Association between polycystic ovary syndrome and hot flash presentation during the midlife period.

Objective: Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is the most common endocrinopathy in reproductive-aged women; however, the impact of PCOS on menopausal symptoms remains poorly understood. This study aims to determine the influence of PCOS on hot flash presentation in midlife women.

Methods: Participants were recruited from the Midlife Women's Health Study involving 780 women aged 45 to 54 years.

The Midlife Women's Health Study - a study protocol of a longitudinal prospective study on predictors of menopausal hot flashes.

Background: The Midlife Women's Health Study (MWHS) was developed to address some of the gaps in knowledge regarding risk factors for hot flashes among generally healthy midlife women during their menopausal transition. This manuscript describes the methods from the study and the main findings that were published to date, with a focus on predictors of hot flashes. This study was initially funded to test the hypothesis that obesity is associated with an increased risk of hot flashes through mechanisms that involve ovarian failure, altered sex steroid hormone levels, and selected genetic polymorphisms.

Risk Factors for Extended Duration and Timing of Peak Severity of Hot Flashes.

Objective: To identify risk factors associated with the duration of hot flashes and the time of peak hot flash severity in mid-life women.

Methods: A cohort of 647 women reporting hot flashes were followed for 1-7 years, with survey data and hormone measurements. Survival analysis determined the association of risk factors with the duration of hot flashes.

Phthalate metabolite levels and menopausal hot flashes in midlife women.

During the menopausal transition, a woman's reproductive capacity declines, her hormone milieu changes, and her risk of hot flashes increases. Exposure to phthalates, which can be found in personal care products, can also result in altered reproductive function. Here, we investigated the associations between phthalate metabolite levels and midlife hot flashes.

The Associations Between Body Mass Index, Smoking, and Alcohol Intake with Ovarian Volume in Midlife Women.

Background: Despite the fact that ovarian volume is a marker of reproductive aging, there is little understanding of factors related to ovarian volume among aging women. The objective of this analysis was to examine the associations between body mass index (BMI), cigarette smoking, and alcohol intake with ovarian volume among midlife women.

Materials And Methods: Data were analyzed from 771 women (45-54 years of age at baseline) enrolled in the Midlife Women's Health Study, a cohort study that was initiated in 2006.

Risk factors for hot flashes among women undergoing the menopausal transition: baseline results from the Midlife Women's Health Study.

Objective: The aim of this study was to examine the associations of demographic characteristics, health behaviors, and hormone concentrations with the experience of any, current, more severe, and more frequent midlife hot flashes.

Methods: Baseline data from 732 women aged 45 to 54 years who were enrolled in the Midlife Women's Health Study were analyzed. A clinic visit was conducted to collect blood samples for hormone assays and to measure ovarian volume using transvaginal ultrasound.

Change in body mass index, weight, and hot flashes: a longitudinal analysis from the midlife women's health study.

Background: The goals of this study were to examine the associations between body mass index (BMI), as well as BMI change and weight change, with midlife hot flashes.

Methods: Data were analyzed from an ongoing 5-year cohort study of 631 midlife women (ages 45-54 years) recruited from Baltimore, Maryland, and its surrounding counties. Height and weight were measured at clinic visits conducted annually.

Genetic polymorphisms in the aryl hydrocarbon receptor-signaling pathway and sleep disturbances in middle-aged women.

Objective: We aimed to determine if selected genetic polymorphisms in the aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AHR)-signaling pathway and circadian locomotor output cycles kaput (CLOCK) are associated with insomnia and early awakening in middle-aged women.

Methods: Women aged 45 to 54years (n=639) were recruited into a middle-aged health study and agreed to complete questionnaires and donate blood samples. Questionnaires were used to assess sleep outcomes.

Genetic polymorphisms in the aryl hydrocarbon receptor signaling pathway as potential risk factors of menopausal hot flashes.

Objective: We sought to determine if genetic polymorphisms in the aryl hydrocarbon receptor signaling pathway are associated with menopausal hot flashes via hormone levels.

Study Design: Women (n = 639) aged 45-54 years completed a study survey and provided blood for genetic and hormone analyses. The associations were analyzed using multivariable logistic regression and generalized linear models.

A genetic polymorphism in the CYP19A1 gene and the risk of hypertension among midlife women.

Objective: To test whether a synonymous single nucleotide polymorphism (A→G; rs700518) in the CYP19A1 gene, which encodes the enzyme aromatase, is associated with an increased risk for hypertension of midlife women.

Methods: In a cross-sectional study, 639 midlife women were recruited. Eligible women had their blood pressure, weight and height measured, and donated a blood sample for hormone and genetic analyses.

Hormonal changes throughout life in women.

The changes in hormonal milieu associated with menarche, pregnancy, lactation, and menopause are frequently accompanied by changes in the patterns and frequency of migraine. Migraine headache is more common in females and, for many women, the onset of this condition occurs at menarche. As many as 60% of women migraineurs report an association between migraine and menstruation, and evidence suggests that estrogen withdrawal may be a trigger for menstrual migraine in susceptible women.

The association between menopausal symptoms and quality of life in midlife women.

This cross-sectional study examined 1,096 midlife women, associating menopausal symptoms, including hot flashes, vaginal dryness, sore joints, incontinence, irritability, mood changes, and headache, with quality of life (QOL), as measured using Cantril's Ladder of Life. The results showed that low QOL may be significantly associated with feeling tense and mood changes, but not the other selected symptoms.

Association between race and hot flashes in midlife women.

Objective: Studies suggest that African American women may have a greater risk of hot flashes compared to Caucasian women, but the reasons for this are unknown. This study tested the hypothesis that African American women have an increased risk of hot flashes due to racial differences in risk factors for hot flashes, including high body mass index (BMI) and lower estrogen levels.

Methods: A population-based study was conducted among women aged 45-54 years.

Treatment of premenstrual dysphoric disorder with a new drospirenone-containing oral contraceptive formulation.

Purpose: This multicenter, double-blind, placebo-controlled crossover study evaluated the efficacy of a new oral contraceptive (OC) formulation containing drospirenone 3 mg and ethinyl estradiol (EE) 20 mug in treating symptoms of premenstrual dysphoric disorder (PMDD).

Method: The OC formulation or placebo was administered for 24 days in a 28-day cycle (24/4), rather than the usual 21-day active treatment, 7-day inert-pill regimen. Participants (N=64) were randomized to either study treatment for three cycles and then after a washout period of one treatment-free cycle switched to the alternate treatment.

Long-term corticosteroid replacement and bone mineral density in adult women with classical congenital adrenal hyperplasia.

Context: Concern has been raised regarding the potential impact of chronic glucocorticoid therapy on the bone mineral density (BMD) of patients with congenital adrenal hyperplasia (CAH).

Objective: The purpose of this investigation was to assess the impact of chronic glucocorticoid replacement in adult women with classical CAH.

Patients And Design: We used dual energy x-ray absorptiometry to evaluate lumbar spine and whole body BMD in 11 women with salt-losing (SL) CAH and 15 with the simple virilizing form.

Prolactin gene expression in human ovarian follicular cells.

Objective: To investigate prolactin gene expression in human ovarian follicular cells.

Design: RNA was isolated from follicular cells obtained at the time of transvaginal oocyte retrieval from patients after controlled ovarian hyperstimulation. The RNA was subjected to reverse transcription and polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) using prolactin-specific primers.

Decreased progesterone receptor expression in the intermediate trophoblastic cells of spontaneous abortions.

Objective: To determine whether there are differences in the expression of progesterone receptor (PR) in intermediate trophoblastic cells of pregnancies ending in either spontaneous abortion (SAB) or elective abortion.

Design: Immunohistochemical identification of PR in intermediate trophoblastic cells.

Setting: Academic medical center.

Integrated summary of Ortho Evra/Evra contraceptive patch adhesion in varied climates and conditions.

Objective: To assess the adhesive reliability of the contraceptive patch (Ortho Evra/Evra).

Design: Pooled data of 3,319 women from three contraceptive studies of up to 13 treatment cycles; a subset of 325 women of the pooled data from warm and humid climates; and 30 women from a three-period, crossover exercise study.

Setting: 184 centers.