Studying the Impact of Exercise on Hot Flashes

Overview

A prospective randomized pragmatic trial will be used to obtain data on energy expenditure, temperature changes and vasomotor symptoms at baseline, during the intervention in which participants will be randomized to either exercise or to not exercise, and at the end of the 12-week intervention.

During menopause, the main symptom that prompts women to seek medical attention is hot flashes. It is estimated that 75% of all menopausal women (approximately 50,000,000) will experience hot flashes, and that 15% will be severely affected. In addition to hot flashes, other significant climacteric symptoms include depression, insomnia, nervousness, fatigue, arthralgia, headache, vaginal dryness and night sweats. Most clinical trials assessing therapeutic efficacy use subjective reports (eg. questionnaires, diaries). The current gold standard for objective assessment of hot flashes is measuring the skin conductance level. However, there is still a relative discordancy between self reported and objectively detected hot flashes even with the use of skin conductance level. A combination of objective and subjective measures probably constitutes a valid assessment of vasomotor symptoms. The menopausal transition is associated with a risk to increase in body weight and adiposity. Weight gain in the menopausal woman can be closely associated with aging but is also influenced by hormonal changes. Identifying modifiable factors that can prevent or attenuate theses changes is of great relevance. Resting energy expenditure decreases with age but also decreases with loss of ovarian function. There is little data on energy expenditure as it relates to the menopause and how influences such as exercise play a role in metabolic rate and how this may play a role in vasomotor symptoms. is an a portable monitor that will be used to collect minute by minute data on energy expenditure, physical activity and sleep monitoring. This data will be used to calculate temperature regulation. There are no studies using this device on women undergoing the menopause transition. Given the skin temperature fluxes that occur with hot flashes, it is possible that energy expenditure is not calculated correctly, since heat is used as a measure of energy expenditure. There are also no studies comparing this device to the current subjective evaluative methods like the hot flash diary and quality of life surveys. The purpose of this study is to generate preliminary data needed to conduct a larger trial.

Conditions

Interventions

Eligibility

Outcomes