The Fact
The Study of Women’s Health Across the Nation (SWAN) followed women with frequent hot flashes and night sweats at seven U.S. sites from 1996 to 2013. Among 881 women, these symptoms lasted a median of 7.4 years in total, and continued for a median of 4.5 years after the final menstrual period.
What This Means
For half the women in this study, hot flashes and night sweats lasted more than seven years — and kept going for years after periods stopped. Waiting it out is a much longer wait than most women are told to expect.
Sources
- Avis, Nancy E., et al. “Duration of menopausal vasomotor symptoms over the menopause transition.” JAMA Internal Medicine 175, no. 4 (2015): 531–539. https://doi.org/10.1001/jamainternmed.2014.8063