Hot Flashes linked to Obstructive Sleep Apnea in Women

Women at the time of menopause suffer from severe hot flashes and are found to be at higher risk of obstructive sleep apnea (OSA), reveals a new study.

What, if any, is the connection between hot flashes, which can also lead to cardiovascular risk, and OSA? New study results being published online in Menopause, the journal of The North American Menopause Society (NAMS), examine that relationship.

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‘Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) occurs more frequently in women as they age, gain weight by the time they reach menopause.’

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Up to 80% of midlife women experience hot flashes or night sweats. Although there is a known association between hot flashes and sleep disturbances in midlife women, it has proven difficult to distinguish those sleep disturbances directly related to menopause from those because of OSA and other sleep disorders.

Obstructive sleep apnea, which is more common in men than women, occurs more frequently as women age, gain weight, and reach perimenopause and postmenopause status. A sampling of perimenopausal and postmenopausal women who experienced disturbed sleep showed that 53% had a sleep disorder such as OSA, restless leg syndrome, or both.

The diagnosis of OSA in women can be more challenging because their symptoms are different from the more obvious ones that men experience, such as loud snoring.

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Women in perimenopause and early menopause face issues with sleep and most of them complain of hot flashes and night sweats, which can disrupt good sleep.

Symptoms for women more often include insomnia, headaches, fatigue, depression, and anxiety. Despite the challenges, the identification of OSA is important because it is associated with a significantly increased risk of heart disease, hypertension, stroke, depression, and death.

As reported in "Association of vasomotor symptoms and sleep apnea risk in midlife women," 1,691 women from the Mayo Clinic completed questionnaires.

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Of these women, 24.9% were classified in the intermediate and high-risk categories for OSA. These women were likely to be older and have a higher body mass index and a greater incidence of hypertension, among other findings.

More pertinent to the results of this study was the fact that women reporting severe hot flashes in midlife were at a higher risk for OSA i.e., 1.87 times higher than in women with mild or no hot flashes.

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"Sleep disruption is a common complaint at menopause. It is important to recognize the high number of undiagnosed sleep disorders, including OSA," says Dr. JoAnn Pinkerton, NAMS executive director.

"Early morning headaches or excessive daytime sleepiness should raise concern for OSA and signal a possible need for sleep apnea testing."

Source-Eurekalert