32 research outputs found
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Musculoskeletal pain among women of menopausal age in Puebla, Mexico
Worldwide, complaints of musculoskeletal pain are more frequent than complaints of hot flashes amongst women of menopausal age. The purpose of this study was to examine musculoskeletal pain among women of menopausal age in the city of Puebla, Mexico. An opportunity sample was recruited from public parks and markets, with representation from all social classes (n=755). Mean age was 50.1~years, and the majority were employed as saleswomen in small businesses. Symptom frequencies were collected by open-ended interviews and with a structured symptom list that queried symptom experience during the two weeks prior to interview. In response to open-ended questions, âdolores de huesosâ (bone pain) was volunteered by 47% of respondents as a symptom associated with menopause, second only to hot flashes (53%). From the structured symptom list, 55.8% and 55.6% reported back pain and joint stiffness during the two weeks prior to interview. Women with back pain and joint stiffness were less likely to report being active during their leisure time (p\u3c.01). The results of backwards stepwise logistic regressions indicate that women with back pain were more likely to be older, with less education, a higher BMI, and ate less meat. Women with joint pain were more likely to be post-menopausal, with less education, more children, a higher BMI, and were likely to drink milk and coffee more than once/week but less than once/day. While menopause is not necessarily a risk factor for musculoskeletal pain, it is important to recognize the pervasiveness of this complaint among women of menopausal age
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Determinants of hot flashes and night sweats
Primary Objective : The purpose of this study was to identify determinants of hot flashes and night sweats, two vasomotor symptoms associated with the hormonal changes of the menopause transition. Methods: Participants were 293 women, aged 45 to 55, randomly selected from automated demographic and membership records of a health maintenance organization in the northeast USA. Letters were mailed to eligible women, followed by face-to-face interviews. Results : Hot flashes during the month before interview were reported by 57% of the participants, although only 9% of the entire sample reported hot flashes to be âbothersomeâ. Night sweats were reported by 36% of all participants, with 6% reporting night sweats to be âbothersomeâ. Fifty-four percent of women reporting hot flashes also reported night sweats. In logistic regression analyses that controlled for menopause status and use of hormone therapy (HT), daily alcohol consumption significantly increased the risk of hot flashes, night sweats, and bothersome night sweats. Higher education and an excellent self-rating of health decreased the risk of night sweats, but not hot flashes. Smoking increased the risk of bothersome hot flashes, but not bothersome night sweats. Conclusions : In logistic regression analyses, alcohol consumption was a significant predictor of vasomotor symptoms. A slightly different set of variables were associated with hot flashes compared to night sweat
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Is follicular atresia biphasic?
Objective: To examine the rate of human follicular depletion and the interpretation of curved scatters on log-linear plots.
Design: Four mathematical models were tested with use of data drawn from published autopsy studies and histologic analyses of ovaries.
Setting: None.
Patient(s): None.
Intervention(s): None.
Main Outcome Measure(s): None.
Result(s): Human oocyte depletion data do not support the inference of a biphasic follicular atresia. On original measurement scales there is no perturbation in the data between ages 37 and 40, and the instantaneous rate of follicle loss is lower after age 40 than ever before.
Conclusion(s): There is no abrupt increase in the ârateâ of follicular atresia that corresponds with a drop in fecundability or an increase in risk of chromosomal abnormalities at approximately age 38. The apparent abrupt increase in rate of follicular depletion is an artifact of log-linear transformation
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Sources of information and HRT prescribing practices among gynecologists in Puebla, Mexico
Objective: The purpose of this study was to determine the sources of information and hormone replacement therapy (HRT) prescribing practices of gynecologists in the capital city of Puebla, Mexico. Methods: Practicing gynecologists (n=44) in 29 colonias (neighborhoods) in the city of Puebla completed a self-administered standardized questionnaire. Survey topics included primary sources of information about HRT, discussion of patient health practices, awareness of alternative medicines, and HRT prescribing practices. Results: Medical journals, hospital presentations, and textbook manuals were rated as the primary sources of information about HRT by 69â73% of physicians. Patients were rated as a primary source of information by 25% of physicians, and pharmaceutical representatives by 16% of physicians. Almost all physicians reported a willingness to discuss diet, smoking habits and other health issues with their patients. Natural and herbal medications were recommended by 25% of physicians. Contrary to studies in the US, more male than female physicians reported recommending hormones to 90â100% of their menopausal patients (60 vs. 33%, n.s.). Conclusions: This study revealed that physicians utilize a wide range of information about HRT, including patients and pharmaceutical representatives. Physiciansâ willingness to list patients as a source of information about HRT indicates the degree to which patients are involved in the medicalization of menopause. Reasons given for prescribing HRT (e.g. prevention of osteoporosis) were similar to those identified in studies in the US and Canada. Some variation in physician attitudes and practices related to HRT was apparent within the city of Puebla, Mexico
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Medication Use and Gender in Massachusetts: Results of a Household Survey
In this study, we investigate the extent to which women and men differ in patterns of medication use, based on quantitative and qualitative data from a household survey in Western Massachusetts. Using a broad definition of medications, 96% of the sample reported taking one or more medications in the month preceding the survey (86% if vitamins, supplements, and alternative medications are excluded). Twenty-one percent of respondents reported taking five or more medications, and women were significantly more likely to report taking five or more medications in the month preceding the survey. For both sexes, analgesics and vitamins were the most commonly used medications, but women were more likely to report having taken hormones, supplements, and antihistamines. The likelihood of medicating reported health conditions did not differ by sex, but the frequency of reporting health conditions was higher among women, and the difference was significant for body aches and psychosomatic conditions.
Analyses of qualitative data indicate that female networks of relatives and friends are an important source of advice on medications for both men and women. Responses to open-ended questions suggest that women\u27s discourse about the effect of medications differs from men\u27s in terms of the range and detail of descriptions of symptoms and side effects
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Cross cultural analysis of determinants of hot flashes and night sweats: latin-american immigrants to madrid and their spanish neighbors
Objective
This study applies a biocultural perspective to better understand the determinants of hot flashes and night sweats within immigrant and local populations in Madrid, Spain.
Methods
A combined sample of 575 women from Madrid, aged 45 to 55, was drawn from two studies. The Spanish sample (n=274) participated in the Decisions at Menopause Study (DAMES) in 2000â2002. The Latin-American sample (n=301) was drawn from immigrants to Madrid in 2010â2011. Chi square analyses and logistic regression models were carried out among the combined controlling by origin of provenance.
Results
Forty four percent of the women reported hot flashes, 36% reported night sweats and 26% both symptoms. Compared to Spanish women, Latin-American women were less likely to report hot flashes (OR 0.7, 95% CI 0.4â0.9) after controlling for demographic variables and menopausal status. The same was not found for night sweats and for both symptoms combined. Determinants of hot flashes differed from determinants of night sweats.
Conclusions
Because determinants differed, hot flashes and night sweats should be queried and analyzed separately. Latin-American women were less likely to report hot flashes, but not night sweats or both symptoms combined. More research is needed to clarify the differences in reported hot flashes as the lesser report among immigrants could have been a cultural rather than a biological phenomeno
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Patterns of occurrence and concordance between subjective and objective hot flashes among Muslim and Hindu women in Sylhet, Bangladesh
This study examined the pattern of occurrence and the rate of concordance between objective hot flashes measured by sternal skin conductance and the subjective experience of âgorom vap lagaâ (feeling steaming hot) among Muslim and Hindu women living in Sylhet, Bangladesh. Participants were aged 40â55, not pregnant or lactating, not using hormone therapy, and with no history of hysterectomy. Thirty women wore an ambulatory hot flash monitor for 8 h on average, from mid-morning to early evening. True positive, false negative, and false positive measures of hot flashes were examined in relation to demographic, reproductive, and lifestyle variables. On body diagrams, women were most likely to indicate hot flashes on the top of their head (64%) and upper chest (68%). The greatest number of objective hot flashes occurred during the hour of 17:00, perhaps due to the heat of the day, and the clothing and activity associated with prayer. Muslim participants demonstrated more objective hot flashes per woman than Hindu participants (1.5 vs. 0.1, P \u3c 0.05), and Muslims had more false positive measures (86%) compared with Hindu participants (0%, P = 0.06). Among all women who reported subjective hot flashes (n = 19), the proportion of true positive scores was 19%. Overall, the frequency of objective hot flashes was low compared with reports from studies in the United States. The pattern of sweating assessed by body diagrams was not associated with variation in hot flash experience. Am. J. Hum. Biol., 2008. © 2008 Wiley-Liss, Inc
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Relationship Between Hot Flashes and Ambulatory Blood Pressure: The Hilo Women\u27s Health Study
Objectives: To examine ambulatory blood pressure (BP) differences between women who report hot flashes (HFs) and those who do not, and to observe whether an objectively measured HF is associated with transient changes in BP. HFs have been associated with elevated BP, but studies have not examined the relationship between objectively measured HFs and blood pressure during normal daily activities.
Methods: A sample of 202 women in Hilo, Hawaii, aged 45 to 55 years, were asked to fill out a questionnaire that included demographic information and an inventory of symptoms. The women underwent simultaneous 24-hour monitoring of ambulatory BP and HFs, at the same time keeping a diary that included mood and HF reports.
Results: No significant difference was present in mean BP between women who reported having an HF during the last 2 weeks and those who did not. When measurements controlled for negative mood reports and posture, there was a highly significant elevation in Z scores of systolic BP when a measured, objective HF occurred within 10 minutes before a BP reading, and a significant elevation of Z scores of diastolic BP when a subjectively reported HF occurred within 10 minutes after a BP reading.
Conclusions: These results suggest that objectively measured HFs precede transient elevations of systolic BP, but it is unclear if there is a causal relationship. These results also suggest that women experience subjective HFs within 10 minutes after a transient increase in diastolic BP. Again, the causal relationship is not understood