An epidemiological study of factors associated with perimenopausal hot flushes

A sample of women from general-practice registers were studied by means of a postal questionnaire which enquired about 18 physiological, personal and sociodemographic characteristics in relation to perimenopausal hot flushes. Eighty-three per cent of 242 women aged from 53 to 60 years reported having experienced hot flushes in the perimenopause. Five variables were found to exert a significant influence on the development of this symptom. Factors found to increase the predisposition towards flushing were: low age at birth of first child; one or more miscarriages, terminations of pregnancy, or stillbirths; previous dysmenorrhoea for which medical help was sought; migraine; and a high blushing tendency in adolescence. Apart from age, none of the sociodemographic characteristics showed a significant association with flushing.