Miniature hygrometric hot flush recorder as an objective indicator of hot flushes: a validation study.

Abstract

Hot flushes are a very common symptom of menopause for which many women seek medical help. Accurate assessment of clinical severity and of the impact of treatment is limited by a lack of methods for objective hot flush recording. The aim of the current study is to test the diagnostic value of a miniature hygrometric hot flush recorder (HFR). The HFR was tested in 50 women with severe postmenopausal hot flushes. Results were compared with recordings in 27 asymptomatic postmenopausal women, 12 premenopausal women, and 12 age-matched healthy men. The number of HFR events was compared with the number of diary-reported hot flushes. Healthy young women and men had a mean (SEM) of 17.3 (1.3) HFR events/day. Asymptomatic postmenopausal women had 13.6 (1.4) HFR events/day, whereas symptomatic postmenopausal women had 21.0 (1.0) HFR events/day (P < 0.001). The number of HFR events in symptomatic women was significantly higher than the number of diary-reported hot flushes (mean [SEM], 13.8 [0.6] hot flushes/d) (P < 0.001). HFR sensitivity to diary-reported hot flushes was 55.1%, with 61.4% specificity. The miniature hygrometric HFR has limited sensitivity and specificity. It detects sweating in general but does not differentiate between natural sweating and hot flush-related sweating. However, it may become useful as a tool for improving the data quality of diary-reported hot flushes.