Menopausal symptoms of hot flushes and night sweats are defined as vasomotor symptoms. They are markers of declining serum estradiol, are not universal in menopausal women and may occur in women who are sensitive to the effects of estradiol on thermoregulatory centers and serotonergic, adrenergic, and norepinephrine neurotransmitters. The aim of this research was to find out if vasomotor symptoms were associated with anxiety in perimenopausal women.

We examined perimenopausal women with anxiety and a comparison group of asymptomatic perimenopausal women. One hundred and two (102) women participated in the study, 44 suffering from anxiety and 58 normal controls. All women were between the ages 40 and 58 and presented with a history of menstrual cycle irregularity of at least six months duration but not longer than one year of amenorrhea. The diagnosis of anxiety was determined by an interview and the Hamilton Anxiety Rating Scale (HAM-A). Vasomotor symptoms were assessed with the Menopause Rating Scale (MRS). The association between vasomotor symptoms and anxiety in perimenopausal women was made using Wilcoxon-Mann-Whitney test.

A significant relationship between vasomototor symptoms and anxiety was found in perimenopausal women. The severity of vasomotor symptoms was strongly associated with the severity of anxiety (p< 0.001).

It appears that hot flushes and night sweats are associated with anxiety in perimenopausal women.