Hot Flashes: When do they Start and Stop?

A recent study by researchers from the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania shows that many women may experience moderate to severe hot flashes up to 10 years after Menopause.

Though current guidelines for hormone replacement therapy suggest that the primary medical treatment for hot flashes not continue over five years, the authors of the study note that "empirical evidence supporting the recommended 3- to 5-year hormone therapy for management of hot flashes is lacking."

As hot flashes often result in intense radiating heat experienced by many women around the time of menopause, the discomfort and distraction associated with the health issue is due to changing hormone levels that many believe are caused by hot flashes and other menopausal symptoms, including fatigue, insomnia, memory and various concentration problems.

And though hormone replacement therapy is considered the most effective form of treatment for women going through this issue, it may not always be the appropriate choice for some due to certain health conditions associated with the treatments.

"Our findings point to the importance of individualized treatments that take into account each woman's risks and benefits when selecting hormone or non-hormone therapy for menopausal symptoms," said the study's lead author, Ellen W. Freeman, Ph.D., research professor in the department of Obstetrics and Gynecology at Penn Medicine, via a press release. "While leading non-hormone therapies such as Paxil or Escitalopram may provide some relief of menopausal symptoms for some women, for others, they may not be as effective as hormone-based therapy."

For the study, researchers examined 255 women in the Penn Ovarian Aging Study who reached natural menopause over a 16-year-period. Results showed that 80 percent reported moderate to severe hot flashes while 17 percent only had mild hot flashes. Three percent, on the other hand, did not report any hot flashes.

Additional information from the study also showed that obese white and African American women had the greatest risk of moderate to severe hot flashes. However, non-obese white women had the lowest risk. Though the increased risk of hot flashes in obese women had previously been associated with lower leves of estradiol before menopause, researchers are uncertain as to the cause of higher hot flashes in non-obese African-American women at this time.

More information regarding the study can be found via the journal Menopause.