Research Group for the Ecuadorian Climacteric & Menopause Society (SECLIM), Ecuador.
Maturitas. 2010 Apr;65(4):378-82. doi: 10.1016/j.maturitas.2009.11.024. Epub 2009 Dec 23.
Several studies drawn from the Ecuadorian population have previously reported that more than half of mid-aged women present hot flushes, which can impair their quality of life. However up-to-date risk factors for their presence and severity have not been assessed.
To assess hot flush frequency and intensity and related risk factors among middle-aged Ecuadorian women.
In this cross-sectional study, 1154 healthy women aged 40-59 years, visiting healthcare centers of eight main cities of Ecuador with more than 100,000 inhabitants, were assessed with the first item of the Menopause Rating Scale (MRS) and a questionnaire containing female and partner socio-demographic data.
Mean age of the entire sample was 48.8+/-5.6 years (median 48), a 48.7% had 12 or less years of schooling, 52.8% were postmenopausal, 43.6% lived at high altitude, 56.8% were married and 10% were on hormonal therapy (HT). Hot flushes accounted for 56% (n=646) of the whole sample, of which 29.1% and 9.1% were respectively graded as severe and very severe. Logistic regression determined that female sedentarism (OR: 2.42, CI 95% [1.63-3.59]), accessing a free healthcare system (OR: 1.96, CI 95% [1.30-2.96]), living at high altitude (OR: 1.82, CI 95% [1.14-2.90]) and having a partner abusing alcohol (OR: 1.92, CI 95% [1.09-3.35]) were significant risk factors related to the presence of hot flushes. The regression model also determined that among women with hot flushes (n=646), sedentarism (OR: 1.73, CI 95% [1.14-2.62]) and having a partner with erectile dysfunction (OR: 2.57, CI 95% [1.44-4.59]) were significant risk factors related to severe/very severe hot flushes whereas married status (OR: 0.53, CI 95% [0.32-0.86]), living at high altitude (OR: 0.46, CI 95% [0.26-0.78]) and partner healthiness (OR: 0.59, CI 95% [0.36-0.95]) were not.
To the best of our knowledge this is the first and largest study assessing hot flushes in a mid-aged Ecuadorian population. We found that the presence and severity were not significantly related to age and hormonal status yet to other individual female/male characteristics and the demography of the studied population.
此前，多项来自厄瓜多尔人群的研究报告称，超过一半的中年女性出现热潮，这可能会降低她们的生活质量。然而，目前尚未评估这些热潮出现和严重程度的相关危险因素。
评估厄瓜多尔中年女性热潮的频率和强度以及相关的危险因素。
在这项横断面研究中，评估了 1154 名年龄在 40-59 岁、在厄瓜多尔八个主要城市的医疗保健中心就诊的健康女性，采用绝经评定量表（MRS）的第一项和包含女性及伴侣社会人口统计学数据的问卷进行评估。
整个样本的平均年龄为 48.8+/-5.6 岁（中位数为 48 岁），48.7%的人受教育年限为 12 年或以下，52.8%处于绝经后状态，43.6%生活在高海拔地区，56.8%已婚，10%正在接受激素治疗（HT）。热潮占整个样本的 56%（n=646），其中 29.1%和 9.1%分别被评为严重和非常严重。逻辑回归确定女性久坐（OR：2.42，95%CI [1.63-3.59]）、获得免费医疗保健系统（OR：1.96，95%CI [1.30-2.96]）、生活在高海拔地区（OR：1.82，95%CI [1.14-2.90]）和伴侣酗酒（OR：1.92，95%CI [1.09-3.35]）是与热潮出现相关的显著危险因素。回归模型还确定，在有热潮的女性中（n=646），久坐（OR：1.73，95%CI [1.14-2.62]）和伴侣勃起功能障碍（OR：2.57，95%CI [1.44-4.59]）是与严重/非常严重热潮相关的显著危险因素，而已婚状态（OR：0.53，95%CI [0.32-0.86]）、生活在高海拔地区（OR：0.46，95%CI [0.26-0.78]）和伴侣健康状况（OR：0.59，95%CI [0.36-0.95]）则没有。
据我们所知，这是第一项也是规模最大的评估厄瓜多尔中年人群热潮的研究。我们发现，热潮的出现和严重程度与年龄和激素状态无显著关系，但与女性/男性个体特征和研究人群的人口统计学特征有关。
