P
Patriot Games
Guest
http://www.newsmax.com/health/hot_flashes_worse/2007/12/28/60248.html
Menopausal Hot Flashes Worse for Heavier Women
Friday, December 28, 2007
Contrary to expectations, the higher a woman's percentage of body fat at
menopause, the more likely she is to experience symptoms such as hot flashes
and night sweats, a new study shows.
Such so-called "vasomotor symptoms" had previously been thought to be less
common in heavier women at menopause, because body fat can convert male
hormones into estrogen, Dr. Rebecca C. Thurston of the University of
Pittsburgh School of Medicine and colleagues note. Fatter women would
therefore have a reserve source of estrogen that could shield them from
these symptoms.
However, there is mounting evidence that heavier women may actually
experience more vasomotor symptoms with menopause, the researchers add in
their report in the American Journal of Epidemiology.
To better understand the relationship between body fat and menopausal
symptoms, Thurston and her team looked at 1,776 women going through
menopause. Fifty-nine percent reported having vasomotor symptoms.
As body fat increased, the researchers found, so did the likelihood that a
woman would have hot flashes and night sweats.
The findings contradict the hypothesis that being fatter protects women from
vasomotor symptoms, they write. Instead, they suggest, it's possible that
excess fat makes it more difficult for the body to dissipate heat.
Based on the findings, Thurston and her colleagues add, weight loss --
especially loss of fat -- may help women going through menopause to reduce
hot flashes and night sweats.
SOURCE: American Journal of Epidemiology, January 1, 2008.
Menopausal Hot Flashes Worse for Heavier Women
Friday, December 28, 2007
Contrary to expectations, the higher a woman's percentage of body fat at
menopause, the more likely she is to experience symptoms such as hot flashes
and night sweats, a new study shows.
Such so-called "vasomotor symptoms" had previously been thought to be less
common in heavier women at menopause, because body fat can convert male
hormones into estrogen, Dr. Rebecca C. Thurston of the University of
Pittsburgh School of Medicine and colleagues note. Fatter women would
therefore have a reserve source of estrogen that could shield them from
these symptoms.
However, there is mounting evidence that heavier women may actually
experience more vasomotor symptoms with menopause, the researchers add in
their report in the American Journal of Epidemiology.
To better understand the relationship between body fat and menopausal
symptoms, Thurston and her team looked at 1,776 women going through
menopause. Fifty-nine percent reported having vasomotor symptoms.
As body fat increased, the researchers found, so did the likelihood that a
woman would have hot flashes and night sweats.
The findings contradict the hypothesis that being fatter protects women from
vasomotor symptoms, they write. Instead, they suggest, it's possible that
excess fat makes it more difficult for the body to dissipate heat.
Based on the findings, Thurston and her colleagues add, weight loss --
especially loss of fat -- may help women going through menopause to reduce
hot flashes and night sweats.
SOURCE: American Journal of Epidemiology, January 1, 2008.