Vasomotor symptoms, cardiovascular risk factors, and cardiovascular disease risk among Chinese postmenopausal women in Hong Kong

ABSTRACT

Vasomotor symptoms are frequently reported by postmenopausal women and linked with unfavorable changes in cardiovascular risk factors, suggesting a likely association with cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk. This study aimed to investigate the characteristics of and associations between vasomotor symptoms, cardiovascular risk factors, and CVD risk among Chinese postmenopausal women. From March 2018 to August 2019, a convenience sample of 288 postmenopausal women who experienced natural menopause for ≥12 months were recruited from district centers of women associations in Hong Kong. We assessed vasomotor symptoms, cardiovascular risk factors, and CVD risk using questionnaires, anthropometric measures, and laboratory testing of fasting blood samples. Data were analyzed using bivariate correlation analyses and linear regression analyses. Over half of the participants experienced vasomotor symptoms (50.3 percent), and 23.3 percent had a high 10-year CVD risk. After adjusting for sociodemographic and clinical variables, flashing (β = 0.270, P = .002) and sweating (β = > −0.206, P = .018) were significantly associated with low-density lipoprotein cholesterol and flashing (β = 0.229, P = .007) were significantly associated with total cholesterol. No statistically significant association was observed between vasomotor symptoms and CVD risk. Vasomotor symptoms were common and associated with several cardiovascular risk factors in Chinese postmenopausal women.

KEYWORDS:

• Cardiovascular disease
• cardiovascular risk factors
• menopause
• vasomotor symptoms

Acknowledgments

The authors thank all research assistants who helped in data collection and participants who took part in the study.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Supplementary material

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Additional information

Funding

This study was funded by the General Research Fund (GRF) of the The Research Grants Council of Hong Kong (Funding Number:14609717).