Sleep Symptoms During the Menopausal Transition and Early Postmenopause: Observations from the Seattle Midlife Women's Health Study

Abstract

Study Objectives:

Describe the severity of getting to sleep, nighttime awakening, and early morning awakening across the menopausal transition (MT) and early postmenopause (PM) and their relationship to age, menopausal transition factors, symptoms, stress-related factors, and health related factors.

Design:

Cohort

Setting:

community

Participants:

286 women from the Seattle Midlife Women's Health Study cohort

Measurements:

Participants completed annual menstrual calendars for MT staging, diaries in which they rated their symptoms, stress levels, and perceived health multiple times per year from 1990-2007 and provided first morning urine samples assayed for E1G, FSH, Cortisol, and catecholamines. Multilevel modeling (R program) was used for data analysis.

Results:

Severity of self-reported problems going to sleep was associated with all symptoms, perceived stress, history of sexual abuse, perceived health (-), alcohol use (-) (all P < 0.001), and lower Cortisol (P = 0.009), but not E1G or FSH. Severity of nighttime awakening was significantly associated with age, late MT stage, and early PM, FSH, E1G (-), hot flashes, depressed mood, anxiety, joint pain, backache, perceived stress, history of sexual abuse, perceived health (-), and alcohol use (-) (all P < 0.001, except E1G for which P = 0.030). Severity of early morning awakening was significantly associated with age, hot flashes, depressed mood anxiety, joint pain, backache, perceived stress, history of sexual abuse, perceived health (-) (all P ≤ 0.001, except E1G for which P = 0.02 and epinephrine (P = 0.038), but not MT stages or FSH. Multivariate models for each symptom included hot flashes, depressed mood, and perceived health.

Conclusion:

Sleep symptoms during the MT may be amenable to symptom management strategies that take into account the symptom clusters and promote women's general health rather than focusing only on the MT.

Menopausal transition, night time awakening, early morning awakening, sleep onset latency