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Geographical distribution of hot flash frequencies: Considering climatic influences
Author(s) -
Sievert Lynnette Leidy,
Flanagan Erin K.
Publication year - 2005
Publication title -
american journal of physical anthropology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.146
H-Index - 119
eISSN - 1096-8644
pISSN - 0002-9483
DOI - 10.1002/ajpa.20293
Subject(s) - hot flash , flash (photography) , environmental science , population , climatology , atmospheric sciences , seasonality , demography , medicine , statistics , mathematics , geology , optics , cancer , sociology , breast cancer , physics
Laboratory studies suggest that hot flashes are triggered by small elevations in core body temperature acting within a reduced thermoneutral zone, i.e., the temperature range in which a woman neither shivers nor sweats. In the present study, it was hypothesized that women in different populations develop climate‐specific thermoneutral zones, and ultimately, population‐specific frequencies of hot flashes at menopause. Correlations were predicted between hot flash frequencies and latitude, elevation, and annual temperatures. Data on hot flash frequencies were drawn from 54 studies. Pearson correlation analyses and simple linear regressions were applied, first using all studies, and second using a subset of studies that included participants only to age 60 (n = 36). Regressions were repeated with all studies, controlling for method of hot flash assessment. When analyses were restricted to studies that included women up to age 60, average temperature of the coldest month was a significant predictor of hot flash frequency ( P < 0.01), explaining 29.2% of the variation in hot flash frequency. In a separate equation, the difference between hottest and coldest temperatures was also a significant predictor ( P < 0.01), explaining 26.4% of the variation in hot flash frequency. When regressions used all studies but controlled for method of hot flash assessment, average temperature of the coldest month, difference between hottest and coldest temperatures, and mean annual temperature were significant predictors of hot flash frequency. Women reported fewer hot flashes in warmer temperatures, and more hot flashes with increasing seasonality. These results suggest that acclimatization to coldest temperatures or sensitivity to seasonality may explain part of the population variation in hot flash frequency. Am J Phys Anthropol, 2005. © 2005 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.