Hot flashes and awakenings among midlife women

Rebecca C Thurston; Yuefang Chang; Daniel J Buysse; Martica H Hall; Karen A Matthews

doi:10.1093/sleep/zsz131

journal article May 31, 2019

Hot flashes and awakenings among midlife women

Rebecca C Thurston Yuefang Chang Daniel J Buysse

Martica H Hall Karen A Matthews

SLEEPJ Vol. 42 No. 9 · Oxford University Press (OUP)

View at Publisher Save 10.1093/sleep/zsz131

Abstract

Abstract

Study Objectives
For most women, the menopause is accompanied by hot flashes and sleep problems. Although hot flashes reportedly wake women from sleep, in the few studies that have used objective measures of both sleep and hot flashes, links between hot flashes and nocturnal awakening have been inconsistent. In a well-characterized cohort of midlife women, we examined the association between objectively assessed hot flashes and actigraphically defined wake from sleep. We hypothesized that wake episodes would be more likely during an objective hot flash relative to minutes without a hot flash.

Methods
Peri- and postmenopausal midlife women underwent simultaneous objective measurement of hot flashes (sternal skin conductance) and sleep (actigraphy) over 24 hours in the home. The likelihood of waking in the minutes during the hot flash relative to the minutes preceding the hot flash was compared using generalized estimating equations.

Results
We studied 168 women with at least one objective nocturnal hot flash and actigraphy data. Actigraphy-assessed wake episodes were concurrent with 78% of the objective hot flashes. We found an increased likelihood of wake in the minutes during the objective hot flash (0 to +5 min: OR [95% CI] = 5.31 (4.46 to 6.33); p &lt; .0001) relative to the minutes preceding it (–10 to –1 min). The increased likelihood of wake occurred irrespective of whether the women reported the objective hot flash.

Conclusion
Among these women who underwent objective measurement of sleep and hot flashes, nocturnal wakefulness was observed with the majority of hot flashes.

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Metrics

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References

Details

Published: May 31, 2019
Vol/Issue: 42(9)
License: View

Authors

R

Rebecca C Thurston

Department of Psychiatry, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, PA; Department of Epidemiology, University of Pittsburgh Graduate School of Public Health, Pittsburgh, PA; Department of Psychology, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA

Y

Yuefang Chang

Department of Neurosurgery, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, PA

D

Daniel J Buysse

Department of Psychiatry, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, PA

M

Martica H Hall

Department of Psychiatry, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, PA; Department of Psychology, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA

K

Karen A Matthews

Department of Psychiatry, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, PA; Department of Epidemiology, University of Pittsburgh Graduate School of Public Health, Pittsburgh, PA; Department of Psychology, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA

Funding

National Institutes of Health

National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute Award: R01HL105647

Cite This Article

Rebecca C Thurston, Yuefang Chang, Daniel J Buysse, et al. (2019). Hot flashes and awakenings among midlife women. SLEEPJ, 42(9). https://doi.org/10.1093/sleep/zsz131

Hot flashes and awakenings among midlife women

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