Evidence map›Paper›PMID 26926327›Full record

ArticleMenopause (New York, N.Y.)2016

Changes in heart rate variability during vasomotor symptoms among midlife women.

Rebecca C Thurston, Karen A Matthews, Yuefang Chang, Nanette Santoro, Emma Barinas-Mitchell, Roland von Känel, Doug P Landsittel, J Richard Jennings

Open access · greenAbstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Menopause (New York, N.Y.), 2016. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 19 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
19citing papers in PubMed
2.0field-weighted citation impact, top 12% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

19 citing papers in PubMed, 25 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Trial
  2. Vasomotor symptoms of menopause, sympathetic activity, and blood pressure in postmenopausal females.American journal of physiology. Heart and circulatory physiology · 2025
    Article
  3. Article
  4. Article
  5. Vasomotor symptoms and cardiovascular health: findings from the SWAN and the MsHeart/MsBrain studies.Climacteric : the journal of the International Menopause Society · 2024
    Review
  6. Article
  7. Menopausal Vasomotor Symptoms and Risk of Incident Cardiovascular Disease Events in SWAN.Journal of the American Heart Association · 2021 · on this map
    Article
  8. Article
  9. Article
  10. Observational
  11. Review
  12. Article
  13. Article
  14. Article
  15. Review
  16. Vasomotor symptoms: natural history, physiology, and links with cardiovascular health.Climacteric : the journal of the International Menopause Society · 2018
    Review
  17. Review
  18. Article
  19. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

8 authors at 5 institutions in 3 countries.

Rebecca C Thurston1Department of Psychiatry, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, PA 2Department of Epidemiology, University of Pittsburgh Graduate School of Public Health, Pittsburgh, PA 3Department of Neurosurgery, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, PA 4Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, University of Colorado School of Medicine, Denver, CO 5Department of Neurology, Inselspital, Bern University Hospital, and University of Bern, Switzerland 6Department of Medicine, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, PA.
Karen A Matthews
Yuefang Chang
Nanette Santoro
Emma Barinas-Mitchell
Roland von Känel
Doug P Landsittel
J Richard Jennings
October 6 University · EGUniversity Hospital of Bern · CHUniversity of Bern · CHUniversity of Colorado Denver · USUniversity of Pittsburgh · US

Funding

Mechanisms linking hot flashes to cardiovascular riskR01HL105647 · NHLBI · UNIVERSITY OF PITTSBURGH AT PITTSBURGH · PI THURSTON, REBECCA C · 2011 to 2015
$3.2M
Interdisciplinary Mentoring and Research in Womens Cardiovascular HealthK24HL123565 · NHLBI · UNIVERSITY OF PITTSBURGH AT PITTSBURGH · PI THURSTON, REBECCA C · 2014 to 2023
$1.0M
NHLBI NIH HHS K24 HL123565NHLBI NIH HHS R01 HL105647
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

objectiveMost midlife women report vasomotor symptoms (VMS), yet their physiology remains poorly understood. This study tested whether acute decreases in cardiac vagal control would occur with VMS in a large sample of women monitored during wake and sleep.

methodsTwo hundred and fifteen nonsmoking women aged 40 to 60 years with evidence of VMS were included. Women were free of a history of clinical cardiovascular disease or arrhythmia; or use of insulin, beta blockers, calcium channel blockers, or medications impacting VMS. Women underwent 24 hours of ambulatory monitoring for physiological (sternal skin conductance) and self-report (electronic diary) measurement of VMS; heart rate variability (electrocardiogram); and respiratory rate. Changes in cardiac vagal control as assessed by respiratory sinus arrhythmia during VMS, relative to periods before and after VMS, were tested in linear mixed models.

resultsSignificant decreases in respiratory sinus arrhythmia were observed during physiologically measured VMS relative to periods preceding (b[SE] = 0.13 (0.004), P < 0.0001) and after the vasomotor symptoms (b[SE] = 0.13 (0.004), P < 0.0001), adjusted for age, race, body mass index, and sleep/wake status. Decreases were observed for women not aware of their VMS, and differences persisted controlling for respiration rate. Interactions indicated that respiratory sinus arrhythmia decreases were most pronounced during sleep and for younger women.

conclusionsPhysiologically measured VMS were accompanied by an inhibition of cardiac vagal control in a large sample of women. Changes were observed irrespective of whether the VMS were reported, were most pronounced during sleep, and were greatest among younger women. These findings contribute to the understanding of vasomotor symptom physiology.

Indexed as

AdultElectrocardiographyFemaleGalvanic Skin ResponseHeart RateHumansLinear ModelsMiddle AgedPerimenopausePostmenopauseSelf ReportSleepVasomotor System

Identifiers

PMID26926327
PMCPMC4844776
OpenAlexW2323997743

What Socratic holds

Textmetadata
LicenceTDM
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the Socratic graph.