Factors related to the experience of menopausal symptoms in women prescribed tamoxifen

Figures & data

Table 1. Demographics of study population.

	N (%)
Age, mean (SD)	53 (10)
	Range 30–90
Ethnicity
White British	681 (92%)
Mixed/multiple ethnic	7 (1%)
Asian/Asian British	30 (4%)
Black/Black British	12 (2%)
Other ethnic background	10 (1%)
Relationship status
Single	791 (11%)
Married	431 (58%)
Widowed	34 (5%)
Separated/divorced	91 (12%)
Co-habiting	102 (14%)
Employment status
Employed full time	281 (38%)
Employed part time	204 (28%)
Homemaker	52 (7%)
Unemployed	57 (8%)
Retired	114 (15%)
Other	30 (4%)
Age left full time education
Under 18	366 (49%)
Over 18	376 (51%)
Menopausal status at diagnosis
Pre-menopausal	405 (55%)
Peri-menopausal	83 (11%)
Post-menopausal	202 (27%)
Unsure/missing	50 (7%)
Months since prescribed tamoxifen, mean (SD)	19.5 (18.3)
	Range 0.2–121
Received chemotherapy	381 (52%)

Figure 1. Percentage of women taking tamoxifen who reported hot flushes or night sweats.

Figure 2. Percentage of women taking tamoxifen who reported severe hot flushes or night sweats.

Table 2. Experience and attribution of symptoms.

	FACT-ES		IPQ-R
	% Experienced inpast seven days	% With moderate to severe symptoms	% Attributed tobreast cancer	% Attributed to previous breast cancer treatment	% Attributed to tamoxifen treatment
Hot flushes	84	64	9	8	66
Night sweats	80	60	7	7	54
Change in sex drive^a	40	–	17	8	27
Loss of sex drive	68	46	–	–	–
Pain or discomfort with intercourse	41	40	–	–	–
Vaginal discharge/dryness/itchiness	72	39	5	5	34
Weight gain	66	46
Weight loss/gain^a	47	–	10	10	40
Feeling down^a	37	–	18	8	20
Mood swings	67	30		–	–
Fatigue^a	53	–	19	13	35
Sleep difficulties^a	44	–	13	9	34
Joint pain	72	55	6	14	37
Headaches	53	21	3	8	15
Loss of concentration^a	38	–	12	9	24

Not all women who reported a symptom will have reported how they attributed it, and women could select multiple sources of attribution. % with moderate to severe symptoms in separate analysis of only those who experienced symptom.

^a These symptoms are not included in the FACT-ES and prevalence is derived from the IPQ-R.

Table 3. Univariate regressions predicting prevalence of HFNS.

	Hot flushes		Night sweats
	OR	95% CI	OR	95% CI
Age	0.95**	0.93–0.97	0.97**	0.95–0.98
Ethnicity
Other versus White British	1.18	0.68–2.06	1.16	0.70–1.92
Age left full time education
<18 versus 18+	1.05	0.71–1.55	1.00	0.70–1.42
Employment status
Employed versus not employed	3.74**	2.45–5.72	2.41**	1.63–3.56
Marital status
No partner versus partner	0.80	0.52–1.23	0.63*	0.43–0.92
Menopausal status
Pre- versus post-menopausal	1.95*	1.29–2.94	1.46*	1.00–2.11
Chemotherapy	3.13**	2.04–4.80	1.91**	1.32–2.74
Months since prescribed	1.10	0.99–2.23	1.03	0.94–1.13
HADS anxiety	1.09*	1.04–1.15	1.11**	1.06–1.16
HADS depression	1.90*	1.24–2.90	2.42**	1.51–3.32
Social support	1.35	0.97–1.89	1.15	0.85–1.54

** p < (0).001.

* p < 0.05.

Table 4. Multivariate regressions predicting prevalence/severity of HFNS.

	Hot flushes prevalence		Night sweat prevalence		Hot flush severity		Night sweat severity
	OR	95% CI	OR	95% CI	OR	95% CI	OR	95% CI
Employment status (employed versus not employed)	2.65*	1.44–4.90	2.18*	1.24–3.82	1.68*	1.03–2.73
Chemotherapy	1.93*	1.14–3.26
HADS depression	2.22*	1.33–3.70	2.41*	1.34–4.33	1.99*	1.22–3.24	1.10**	1.03–1.17
Attributing HF/NS to tamoxifen					3.78**	2.43–5.77	2.80**	1.94–4.01

** p < 0.001.

* p < 0.05.

Table 5. Univariate regressions predicting severity of hot flushes (n = 623) and night sweats (n = 587).

	Hot flushes		Night sweats
	OR	95% CI	OR	95% CI
Age	0.98	0.97–1.00	0.98	0.97–1.00
Ethnicity
Other versus white British	1.24	0.77–1.99	1.39	0.86–2.24
Age left full time education
<18 versus 18+	1.07	0.77–1.48	1.28	0.92–1.78
Employment status
Employed versus not employed	1.62**	1.07–2.43	1.23	0.81–1.87
Marital status
No partner versus partner	0.87	0.60–1.25	0.86	0.59–1.25
Menopausal status
Pre versus post-menopausal	1.52*	1.07–2.14	1.31	0.92–1.85
Chemotherapy	1.56*	1.12–2.17	1.06	0.76–1.47
Months since prescribed	1.02	0.94–1.12	1.00	0.92–1.09
HADS anxiety	1.07*	1.03–1.11	1.06**	1.02–1.11
HADS depression	2.04**	1.45–2.87	2.03**	1.46–2.83
Social support	1.56	0.93–2.62	1.14	0.69–1.91
Symptom attributed to tamoxifen	2.58**	1.77–3.77	2.63**	1.84–3.74

** p < 0.001.

* p < 0.05.