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27 April 2005
Vasomotor Symptoms Different For Menopausal African-American Women 
A Yale researcher's study of African-American women in menopause shows that while they experience many of the same symptoms as white women, they report more vasomotor symptoms such as dizziness and bloating. The study identified for inclusion African-American women who nominated themselves as experiencing menopausal symptoms that were not related to surgical or medicinal intervention. The first author of the study, Ivy Alexander of Yale, then conducted a series of focus groups involving these women. The women reported symptoms common among white women in menopause - hot flashes, irregular menstruation, heavy bleeding, sleep changes, night sweats, vaginal dryness, urinary urgency and decreased libido. Other common symptoms were forgetfulness, depression, irritability, fatigue, headache, and skin and hair changes. Less common menopausal symptoms reported by the African-American women were related to vasomotor functions, which involve constriction of blood vessels. These less common symptoms included dizziness, vaginal discharge, vaginal and body odor, hot feet, swollen hands, body rashes, bloating and joint stiffness. "Some of the participants also described experiencing 'rage', which was identified by participants as a bubbling up of indignation directed toward others - family members, coworkers, or friends," said Alexander. "It was as if achieving menopause transported them into another phase of life, one in which the women fully expected to be treated better and were unwilling to settle for anything less." Alexander said this rage had also been reported by white women, and was perhaps a 'coming of age' and outgrowth of individual women's life experiences, rather than being representative of black or white culture. Despite the fact that all of the women in the survey had been offered hormone replacement therapy by their physicians, only 16 percent had opted to use it.
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