Hot Flashes, Night Sweats Linked to Low BMD

As if hot flashes and night sweats weren’t enough to deal with, new research indicates that women who have these problems during menopause are likely to have lower bone mineral density and higher rates of hip fracture than those without these symptoms.

The work, published in the Endocrine Society’s Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism, was a prospective cohort study with data from 23, 573 participants in the Women’s Health Initiative (WHI) Clinical Trial. A total of 40 centers were involved; women’s annual visits were tracked for an average of eight years.

“Our findings suggest women who exhibit moderate or severe menopausal symptoms are more likely to have issues with bone health than their peers, ” said one of the study’s authors, Carolyn J. Crandall, M.D., M.S., of the David Geffen School of Medicine at the University of California, Los Angeles, in the December 18, 2014 news release. “This is the first large cohort study to examine the relationship between menopausal symptoms and bone health in menopausal women.”

“More research is needed to illuminate the connection between bone health and menopausal symptoms such as hot flashes, ” said Crandall. “Improved understanding would help clinicians advise women on how to better prevent osteoporosis and other bone conditions. Women who have hot flashes and want to protect their bones may benefit from healthy lifestyle habits such as avoiding smoking and excessive alcohol consumption, exercising and getting sufficient calcium and vitamin D.”

Dr. Crandall told OTW, “We tend to think of menopausal hot flashes as not having any lasting consequences. However, these results suggest that menopausal hot flashes may be indicative of an increased risk of future hip fracture.”

“It would be premature to conclude that women with hot flashes require osteoporosis medication solely on the basis of hot flashes. While we work to figure out the explanations for the links between hot flashes and increased hip fracture risk, it is reasonable for women with hot flashes to pay special attention to their bone health by instituting good practices: smoking cessation, optimal calcium and vitamin D intake (per the Institute of Medicine guideline), weight-bearing exercise (such as walking), and avoidance of excessive alcohol intake. They should review with their physicians whether they may have additional risk factors for osteoporosis (diseases, bone-toxic medications) that would require attention.”