Does physical exercise influence the frequency of postmenopausal hot flushes?

The frequency of moderate and severe hot flushes was investigated in a group of women (n = 142) who took part in organized physical exercise on a regular basis, and a control group of all women 52 and 54 years old in the city of Linköping, Sweden (n = 1,246). Only women with natural menopause and without a history of hormonal replacement treatment were statistically compared in the study. It appeared that moderate and severe vegetative symptoms with hot flushes and sweatings were only half as common among the physically active postmenopausal women (21.5%) as in the control group (43.8%). Although this could be due to a positive selection of these physically active women, it might also be due to the fact that exercise may affect the mechanisms that elicit hot flushes in peri- and postmenopausal women.