Lifestyle factors: are they related to vasomotor symptoms and do they modify the effectiveness or side effects of hormone therapy?

Health-Related Quality of Life and Healthcare Resource Utilization in Taiwanese Women With Menopausal Symptoms

“…Although earlier studies correlated active cigarette smoking and secondhand smoke exposure positively with menopause-associated vasomotor symptoms (Gold et al, 2004;Greendale & Gold, 2005), our study found otherwise. A possible explanation is that Taiwanese women who experienced menopausal symptoms adopted a healthier lifestyle in hope of alleviating symptoms.…”

A survey among breast cancer survivors: treatment of the climacteric after breast cancer

“…However, others did not observe this difference 41 . Greendale and colleagues reviewed, in a meta-analysis, the relation between lifestyle factors and the occurrence of vasomotor symptoms and found that cigarette smoking was associated with vasomotor symptoms, but the relation between alcohol intake and vasomotor symptoms cannot be confirmed from the available literature 42 . These authors also reported that higher body mass index was a risk factor for vasomotor symptoms 42 .…”

“…Greendale and colleagues reviewed, in a meta-analysis, the relation between lifestyle factors and the occurrence of vasomotor symptoms and found that cigarette smoking was associated with vasomotor symptoms, but the relation between alcohol intake and vasomotor symptoms cannot be confirmed from the available literature 42 . These authors also reported that higher body mass index was a risk factor for vasomotor symptoms 42 . But our study is hampered by some limitations: in this survey of breast cancer patients, the age range was quite large (although only postmenopausal women were considered).…”

The SWAN Song: Study of Women’s Health Across the Nation’s Recurring Themes

“…The median adjusted BMI of the women in SWAN was 27.3 kg/m 2 at the study baseline visit 26 . Higher BMI is associated with worse vasomotor symptoms as women traverse the menopause 13 , but this relationship may change once women become postmenopausal 14 . High BMI is also related to the trajectory of reproductive hormones across the transition.…”