The researchers invited 761 women ages 45 to 54 to participate in the study that spanned seven years. At the start, there were 347 women who were already manifesting hot flashes. Only 39 percent of non-smokers had hot flashes, while 52 percent of those who ceased smoking had hot flashes. Around 62 percent of the participants, meanwhile, were still smoking. The study concluded that those who smoked at least five years before the conduct of the study had 45% chances of less severe hot flashes. Women at the onset of their menopause usually have to endure hot flashes, although not all women have this.
"While the impact was most grounded if ladies quit no less than five years prior to the onset of menopause, even ladies stopping later improved result than ladies who kept on smoking," the study's lead researcher, Rebecca Smith said.
"Subset analysis of the 353 women who had ever smoked found that women who had quit smoking for longer than 5 years had significantly lower odds, severity and frequency of hot flashes than women who had continued smoking or women who had quit in the previous 5 years," the researchers explained in the study.
Aside from smoking, the researchers also underscored the benefits that could be gained from avoiding smoking. The Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) ranks smoking as one of the top causes of avoidable deaths in the U.S. Smoking is also linked to other types of cancers, as well as other conditions, including vaginal dryness, mood swings, insomnia and hot flashes and night sweats.
While the study eventually emphasized that the results cannot indict smoking as the sole factor behind hot flashes, still, smoking could hamper the hormones, neurotransmitters and other mechanisms from functioning properly.
