Hot flushes, common symptoms, and social relations among middle-aged nonmenopausal French women in the GAZEL cohort

OBJECTIVE: Many symptoms, including hot flushes (HFs) may appear during the years preceding menopause. Hypotheses to explain these symptoms include biomedical, demographic, and cultural risk factors. Social relations are also associated with various aspects of health. The aim of this study was to analyze the association between social relations and the reporting of HFs and other common symptoms among middle-aged nonmenopausal French women taking into account other factors, including biomedical characteristics. DESIGN: Data came from self-administered questionnaires mailed to 1,180 pre- or perimenopausal women aged 45 to 54 years participating in the French GAZEL cohort. Bivariate and multivariate analyses examined the association between symptoms (HFs, general, psychological, osteoarticular, and breast symptoms) and three scores of social relations (social network, social relations, and satisfaction with social relations). RESULTS: After adjustment, low social support was associated with psychological symptoms (odds ratio OR] = 2.65; 95% CI: 1.33-5.29) and unsatisfactory social relations were associated with psychological (OR = 2.04; 95% CI: 1.49-2.79) and breast symptoms (OR = 1.38; 95% CI: 1.03-1.84). HFs were not associated with social relations but were related to common symptoms (OR = 2.80; 95% CI: 1.94-4.03). Perimenopausal women were more likely to report HF than premenopausal women (OR = 2.63; 95% CI: 1.88-3.71). CONCLUSION: Social relations were associated with psychological and breast symptoms, but not with HFs. The strong association between common symptoms and HFs suggests that biomedical factors have a greater influence than social relations on the occurrence of HFs.