Hot flashes, osteoporosis linked

Menopausal women with vasomotor symptoms have lower bone density

Women suffering from vasomotor symptoms (VMS) associated with menopause—hot flashes and night sweats—were found to suffer from lower bone density, according to a new study.

Researchers at the University of California, Los Angeles analyzed data from 2,213 women between the ages of 42 and 52 who participated in the bone sub-study of the Study of Women's Health Across the Nation. They found that premenopausal women and early perimenopausal women who had VMS has lower femoral neck bone mineral density than those without VMS. Postmenopausal women with VMS were found to have lower lumbar and total hip bone mineral density than those without VMS.

The study, by Dr. Carolyn J. Crandall, associate clinical professor of general internal medicine and health services research; Gail A. Greendale, professor of medicine in geriatrics; and Yan Zheng, of the division of general internal medicine and health services research, appeared in the March/April 2009 issue of the journal Menopause. It was funded by The National Institute on Aging, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' National Institutes of Health, the National Institute of Nursing Research, and the NIH Office of Research on Women's Health.