Effect of aerobic training on hot flushes and quality of life—a randomized controlled trial

Abstract

Background and objective. To estimate whether aerobic training has an effect on frequency of hot flushes or quality of life.Design. A randomized controlled trial.Participants and setting. Symptomatic, sedentary women (n = 176), 43–63 years, no current use of hormone therapy.Intervention. Unsupervised aerobic training for 50 minutes four times per week during 6 months.Outcomes. Hot flushes as measured with Women's Health Questionnaire (WHQ) and Health-Related Quality of Life (HRQoL, SF-36), daily reported hot flushes on phone-based diary, cardiorespiratory fitness (CRF), and body composition.Results. Intervention group had larger decrease in the frequency of night-time hot flushes based on phone diary (P for month X group = 0.012), but not on WHQ scale. Intervention group had less depressed mood (P= 0.01) than control women according to change in WHQ score. Changes in WHQ score in depressed mood (P = 0.03) and menstrual symptoms (P=0.01) in the intervention group were significantly dependent on frequency of training sessions. HRQoL was improved among the intervention group women in physical functioning (P= 0.049) and physical role limitation (P= 0.017). CRF improved (P= 0.008), and lean muscle mass increased (P= 0.046) significantly in the intervention group as compared to controls.Conclusions. Aerobic training may decrease the frequency of hot flushes and improve quality of life among slightly overweight women.

Quality of life among postmenopausal women in rural Minia, Egypt

“…Women with BMI scores in the normal range had lower vasomotor symptom scores and better health-related QOL scores than obese women, and those who gained weight were more likely to report deterioration in their QOL (25). We found that women with a normal BMI had a significantly lower total MRS score compared with underweight, overweight or obese women and this is consistent with another previous study (26).…”

To exercise, or, not to exercise, during menopause and beyond

“…Moderate physical activity was associated with decreased objective and subjective hot flashes 24 hours post exercise [46], although worse reported symptoms were reported in women with lower fitness levels. In a randomised controlled trial, 176 symptomatic sedentary women who were given an aerobic exercise regime 50 minutes 4x per week over 6 months, reported a decrease in the frequency of hot flashes [47]. In 3,201…”

Melhora dos sintomas do climatério por meio da atividade física: uma revisão sistemática

“…Destaca-se também a influência positiva da atividade física na qualidade de vida das mulheres no climatério nos estudos de coorte e prospectivo. [17][18][19][20][21][22][23][24] Com relação à avaliação metodológica dos artigos desta revisão, verificou-se entre os estudos que realizaram intervenção, ocorreu uma variação de escore entre 13 a 21 pontos com uma média de 57,75 pontos. Quanto aos estudos que não tiveram intervenção, observou-se uma variação de escore entre 12 a 15 pontos com média de 90,14 pontos.…”