Vasomotor symptoms in aging Chinese women: findings from a prospective cohort study

Purpose: This study aimed to prospectively determine the prevalence, duration, and severity of vasomotor symptoms (VMS) during menopause in a Chinese longitudinal cohort. Methods: This longitudinal cohort study recruited 187 participants from an urban Chinese community. The presence, frequency, degree, and duration of VMS were measured and analyzed. Results: A total of 83.4% of participating women experienced hot flashes and 82.9% reported night sweats, with nearly half reporting moderate to severe VMS (more than 3 times per day, or rated 4 or greater on a 1-8 severity scale). The median duration for both hot flashes and night sweats was 4.5 years. In a generalized linear mixed model, presence of VMS was significantly related to menopause stages, serum follicle stimulating hormone concentrations, general distress levels, and baseline body mass index. Discussion and conclusions: The prevalence of VMS in this longitudinal cohort was higher than that of previous Chinese cross-sectional studies and consistent with prior studies in western women. Meanwhile, the duration of symptomatic years in our study was shorter than that of western women. These results indicate that the difference in VMS between western and Chinese women appears to be in terms of the duration of symptoms, not prevalence.