Racial differences in menopause information and the experience of hot flashes

OBJECTIVE: To compare the prevalence of hot flashes and health education re garding menopause in African-American and white American women in the late reproductive years. DESIGN: Cross-sectional study. SETTING: Population-based sample recruited through random digit dialing. PARTICIPANTS:The sample was 436 women between the ages of 35 and 48 years w ith regular menses. Half the sample was African American and half was white American. MAIN RESULTS: African-American women (53%) were more likely than white Amer ican women (29%) to have experienced hot flashes (p < .001). The difference remained after adjustment for body-mass index, education, menstrual cycle characteristics, and gynecologic and medical history. Despite the high prev alence of symptoms, few women had discussed menopausal management with thei r physicians. For white women the media were the primary source of menopaus e-related information, whereas African-American women reported that their f amily was the primary source of Information. CONCLUSIONS: These results indicate that hot flashes occur commonly among w omen in their thirties and forties who have regular menstrual cycles and th at the prevalence of hot flashes appears to differ by race. Studies should be designed to evaluate the hormonal and physiologic implications of these symptoms among women in their late reproductive years. Few of these women h ad discussed menopause with their physicians. Given the differences in sour ces of information about menopause, development of culture-specific health education programs should be considered.