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This Article Figures Only Full Text Full Text (PDF) All Versions of this Article: AJPH.2005.066936v1 96/7/1226    most recent Submit a response Purchase Article View Shopping Cart Alert me when this article is cited Alert me when eLetters are posted Alert me if a correction is posted Services Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in ISI Web of Science Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Citing Articles Citing Articles via HighWire Citing Articles via ISI Web of Science (29) Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Gold, E. B. Articles by Matthews, K. Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Gold, E. B. Articles by Matthews, K. Related Collections Epidemiology Obesity, Overweight, Underweight Other Race/Ethnicity Socioeconomic Factors Women's Health

Ellen B. Gold, PhD, Alicia Colvin, MPH, Nancy Avis, PhD, Joyce Bromberger, PhD, Gail A. Greendale, MD, Lynda Powell, PhD, Barbara Sternfeld, PhD and Karen Matthews, PhD

Ellen B. Gold is with the Department of Public Health Sciences, University of California, Davis. Alicia Colvin is with the Epidemiology Data Center, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pa. Nancy Avis is with the Department of Public Health Sciences, Wake Forest University School of Medicine, Winston-Salem, NC. Joyce Bromberger and Karen Matthews are with the Department of Psychiatry, University of Pittsburgh. Gail A. Greendale is with the Division of Geriatrics, University of California, Los Angeles. Lynda Powell is with the Department of Preventive Medicine, Rush University Medical Center, Chicago, Ill. Barbara Sternfeld is with the Division of Research, Kaiser Permanente, Oakland, Calif.

Correspondence: Requests for reprints should be sent to Ellen B. Gold, PhD, Division of Epidemiology, Department of Public Health Sciences University of California, One Shields Ave, TB168, Davis, CA 95616 (e-mail: ebgold{at}ucdavis.edu).

Objectives. We investigated whether vasomotor symptom reporting or patterns of change in symptom reporting over the perimenopausal transition among women enrolled in a national study differed according to race/ethnicity. We also sought to determine whether racial/ethnic differences were explained by sociodemographic, health, or lifestyle factors.

Methods. We followed 3198 women enrolled in the Study of Women’s Health Across the Nation during 1996 through 2002. We analyzed frequency of vasomotor symptom reporting using longitudinal multiple logistic regressions.

Results. Rates of vasomotor symptom reporting were highest among African Americans (adjusted odds ratio [OR]=1.63; 95% confidence interval [CI]=1.21, 2.20). The transition to late perimenopause exhibited the strongest association with vasomotor symptoms (adjusted OR = 6.64; 95% CI = 4.80, 9.20). Other risk factors were age (adjusted OR=1.17; 95% CI=1.13, 1.21), having less than a college education (adjusted OR = 1.91; 95% CI = 1.40, 2.61), increasing body mass index (adjusted OR=1.03 per unit of increase; 95% CI=1.01, 1.04), smoking (adjusted OR=1.63; 95% CI=1.25, 2.12), and anxiety symptoms at baseline (adjusted OR=3.10; 95% CI=2.33, 4.12).

Conclusions. Among the risk factors assessed, vasomotor symptoms were most strongly associated with menopausal status. After adjustment for covariates, symptoms were reported most often in all racial/ethnic groups in late perimenopause and nearly as often in postmenopause.

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