Ideal Cardiovascular Health Metrics and Risk of Incident Early-Onset Vasomotor Symptoms Among Premenopausal Women

Context: The relationship of ideal cardiovascular health (CVH) behaviors with preventing early-onset vasomotor symptoms (VMSs) is unknown.

Objective: We investigated the association between CVH metrics and the development of early-onset VMSs in premenopausal women.

Methods: This cohort study included 2541 premenopausal women aged 42 to 52 years without VMSs at baseline. CVH metrics were defined according to the American Heart Association Life Simple 7 metrics. Owing to limited availability of dietary information, CVH metrics were scored from 0 (unhealthy) to 6 (healthy) and classified into 3 groups: poor (0-2), intermediate (3-4), and ideal (5-6) CVH. VMSs, including hot flashes and night sweats, were assessed using the Menopause-Specific Quality of Life questionnaire. Moderate/severe VMSs was defined as a score of 3 or more points (range, 0 to 6; 6 being most bothersome).

Results: During a median follow-up of 4.5 years, 1241 women developed VMSs before menopause. After adjustment for age, parity, education level, and alcohol consumption, the hazard ratio (HR) (95% CI) for developing early-onset VMSs comparing poor CVH group to the ideal group was 1.41 (1.07-1.86). CVH scores were also inversely associated with moderate/severe VMSs in a dose-response manner (P for trend = .004); specifically, multivariable-adjusted HRs comparing intermediate and poor CVH groups to the ideal group were 1.20 (95% CI, 1.02-1.43) and 1.57 (95% CI, 1.08-2.29), respectively.

Conclusion: Unfavorable CVH metrics were significantly associated with an increased risk of early-onset VMSs and its more severe forms among premenopausal women.