Sedentary time, physical activity tied to menopausal hot flash experiences

Key takeaways:

• Longer time spent sitting was linked to an increase in objectively measured sleeping hot flashes.
• Replacing sitting with vigorous activity was linked to an increase in participant-reported waking hot flashes.

Sedentary time and physical activity were both associated with how menopausal women experience hot flashes, according to an analysis published in Menopause.

“Despite the known benefits of physical activity for health, currently, there is not enough evidence available to make recommendations related to physical activity as a treatment for hot flashes,” Sarah Witkowski, PhD, chair and associate professor in the department of exercise and sport studies at Smith College in Northampton, Massachusetts, told Healio. “Our work is helping to uncover the complex relationship between physical activity, sedentary behavior and exercise on hot flashes.”

Witkowski and colleagues analyzed data from 196 women (mean age, 51 years) aged 45 to 55 years, of whom 18% were premenopausal, 43% were perimenopausal and 39% were postmenopausal. Using the International Physical Activity Questionnaire, participants self-reported the number of days and time in the past 7 days spent in moderate- and vigorous-intensity activities and walking and reported time spent sitting during weekdays in the last 7 days. To monitor hot flashes, participants wore an ambulatory sternal skin conductance hot flash monitor with event marking buttons for 24 hours. Participants indicated when hot flashes were perceived using buttons on the device and paper logs.

In addition, participants wore an Actigraph accelerometer to record waking and sleep times during the monitoring period and were instructed to place a data logger under the covers when sleeping to record temperature and humidity.

Overall, participants spent a median of 7 hours sitting, 30 minutes walking, 11 minutes engaging in moderate activity and 9 minutes engaging in vigorous activity daily, the researchers reported.

Increasing sitting by 1 hour daily was associated with a 7% increase in objectively measured sleeping hot flash rates (P = .01). Researchers observed no significant relationships between physical activity and participant-reported sleeping hot flash rates.

For waking hot flash rates, replacing 1 hour of sitting with 1 hour of vigorous physical activity was associated with a 100% increase in participant-reported rates (P = .01), but not for objectively measured rates, the researchers wrote.

Temperature and humidity did not significantly influence participant-reported or objectively measured waking hot flashes.

“The findings help bring information to clinicians that they can use when discussing hot flash symptoms with their patients who are wondering about the effects of physical activity,” Witkowski said. “They can share that this evidence suggests that while physical activity may influence one’s perception of hot flashes, replacing sedentary time with movement during the day may help reduce nighttime hot flashes.”

According to Witkowski, because hot flashes have been associated with an increased CVD risk, researchers will continue using self-report measures of perception and monitors to understand the relationships between physical activity and hot flashes and whether physical activity changes the association between hot flashes and CVD risk.

For more information:

Sarah Witkowski, PhD, can be reached at switkowski@smith.edu.