Diabetes Risk Linked to Hot Flashes, Night Sweats

Vasomotor symptoms (VMS), which include hot flashes and night sweats, are associated with an increased risk for diabetes among postmenopausal women, according to a recent study.

For their study, researchers assessed the incidence of diabetes among 150,007 postmenopausal women involved in the Women’s Health Initiative study from 1993 to 2014. They calculated hazard ratios (HR) based on VMS characteristics, which included severity, type, timing (early or late), and duration.
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Overall, the prevalence of VMS was 33%.

Participants who reported any VMS symptoms had an 18% increased risk for diabetes (95% CI 1.14-1.22). This risk was found to increase with severity (1.13 for mild [95% CI 1.08-1.17], 1.48 for moderate [95% CI 1.22-1.36], and 1.48 for severe [95% CI 1.34-1.62]) and duration (4% per 5 years, 95% CI 1.03, 1.05), regardless of obesity.

Additionally, this risk was more pronounced among women who reported night sweats. Compared with only hot flashes, the HRs for only night sweats and nights sweats with hot flashes were 1.20 and 1.22, respectively. However, the association between night sweats and increased diabetes risk was restricted to late VMS symptoms.

“VMS are associated with elevated diabetes risk, particularly for women reporting night sweats and postmenopausal symptoms,” the researchers concluded. “The menopause transition may be an optimal window for clinicians to discuss long-term cardiovascular/metabolic risk with patients and leverage the bother of existing symptoms for behavior change to improve VMS and reduce diabetes risk.”

—Melissa Weiss

Reference:

Gray KE, Katon JG, LeBlanc ES, et al. Vasomotor symptom characteristics: are they risk factors for incident diabetes? [published online December 4, 2017]. Menopause. doi:10.1097/GME.0000000000001033.