Longitudinal Analysis of the Association Between Vasomotor Symptoms and Race/Ethnicity Across the Menopausal Transition: Study of Womens Health Across the Nation
Ellen B. Gold, PhD,
Alicia Colvin, MPH,
Nancy Avis, PhD,
Joyce Bromberger, PhD,
Gail A. Greendale, MD,
Lynda Powell, PhD,
Barbara Sternfeld, PhD and
Karen Matthews, PhD
Ellen B. Gold is with the Department of Public Health Sciences, University of California, Davis. Alicia Colvin is with the Epidemiology Data Center, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pa. Nancy Avis is with the Department of Public Health Sciences, Wake Forest University School of Medicine, Winston-Salem, NC. Joyce Bromberger and Karen Matthews are with the Department of Psychiatry, University of Pittsburgh. Gail A. Greendale is with the Division of Geriatrics, University of California, Los Angeles. Lynda Powell is with the Department of Preventive Medicine, Rush University Medical Center, Chicago, Ill. Barbara Sternfeld is with the Division of Research, Kaiser Permanente, Oakland, Calif.
Correspondence: Requests for reprints should be sent to Ellen B. Gold, PhD, Division of Epidemiology, Department of Public Health Sciences University of California, One Shields Ave, TB168, Davis, CA 95616 (e-mail: ebgold{at}ucdavis.edu).
Objectives. We investigated whether vasomotor symptom reportingor patterns of change in symptom reporting over the perimenopausaltransition among women enrolled in a national study differedaccording to race/ethnicity. We also sought to determine whetherracial/ethnic differences were explained by sociodemographic,health, or lifestyle factors.
Methods. We followed 3198 women enrolled in the Study of WomensHealth Across the Nation during 1996 through 2002. We analyzedfrequency of vasomotor symptom reporting using longitudinalmultiple logistic regressions.
Results. Rates of vasomotor symptom reporting were highest amongAfrican Americans (adjusted odds ratio [OR]=1.63; 95% confidenceinterval [CI]=1.21, 2.20). The transition to late perimenopauseexhibited the strongest association with vasomotor symptoms(adjusted OR = 6.64; 95% CI = 4.80, 9.20). Other risk factorswere age (adjusted OR=1.17; 95% CI=1.13, 1.21), having lessthan a college education (adjusted OR = 1.91; 95% CI = 1.40,2.61), increasing body mass index (adjusted OR=1.03 per unitof increase; 95% CI=1.01, 1.04), smoking (adjusted OR=1.63;95% CI=1.25, 2.12), and anxiety symptoms at baseline (adjustedOR=3.10; 95% CI=2.33, 4.12).
Conclusions. Among the risk factors assessed, vasomotor symptomswere most strongly associated with menopausal status. Afteradjustment for covariates, symptoms were reported most oftenin all racial/ethnic groups in late perimenopause and nearlyas often in postmenopause.
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