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Hot Flashes and
Insomnia
Researchers writing in the Archives of Internal Medicine say:
"Severe hot flashes are strongly associated with chronic
insomnia in midlife women. The presence of hot flashes should be
systematically investigated in women with insomnia. Treating hot
flashes could improve sleep quality and minimize the deleterious
consequences of chronic insomnia."
Ohayon MM. Severe
hot flashes are associated with chronic insomnia. Arch Intern
Med. 2006 Jun 26;166(12):1262-8 http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=pubmed&cmd=Retrieve&dopt=Abstract&list_uids=16801508
BACKGROUND: Because hot flashes can occur during the
night, their presence has been frequently associated with
insomnia in women with symptoms of menopause. However, many
factors other than hot flashes or menopause can be responsible
for insomnia, and several factors associated with insomnia in
the general population are also commonly observed in
perimenopausal and postmenopausal women who have hot flashes.
METHODS: A random sample of 3243 subjects (aged >/=18
years) representative of the California population was
interviewed by telephone. Included were 982 women aged 35 to 65
years. Women were divided into 3 groups according to menopausal
status: premenopause (57.2%), perimenopause (22.3%), and
postmenopause (20.5%). Hot flashes were counted if they were
present for at least 3 days per week during the last month and
were classified as mild, moderate, or severe according to their
effect on daily functioning.
Chronic insomnia was defined as global sleep dissatisfaction,
difficulty initiating sleep, difficulty maintaining sleep, or
nonrestorative sleep, for at least 6 months. Diagnoses of
insomnia were assessed according to the Diagnostic and
Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fourth Edition,
classification.
RESULTS: Prevalence of hot flashes was 12.5% in
premenopause, 79.0% in perimenopause, and 39.3% in postmenopause.
Prevalence of chronic insomnia was reported as 36.5% in
premenopause, 56.6% in perimenopause, and 50.7% in postmenopause.
Prevalence of symptoms of chronic insomnia increased with the
severity of hot flashes, reaching more than 80% in
perimenopausal women and postmenopausal women who had severe hot
flashes. In multivariate analyses, severe hot flashes were
significantly associated with symptoms and a diagnosis of
chronic insomnia. Poor health, chronic pain, and sleep apnea
were other significant factors associated with chronic insomnia.
CONCLUSIONS: Severe hot flashes are strongly associated
with chronic insomnia in midlife women. The presence of hot
flashes should be systematically investigated in women with
insomnia. Treating hot flashes could improve sleep quality and
minimize the deleterious consequences of chronic insomnia.
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