Vasomotor symptoms and neurovegetative comorbidities on the menopause: insights from an Italian quantitative research

Vasomotor symptoms (VMSs) are the most common symptoms affecting women during the menopause. Besides, affective symptoms may share with VMS a common biological pathophysiology. The current multicenter quantitative research was based on an online survey aimed to evaluate the impact of VMS in peri- and post-menopausal Italian women and to identify the main barriers to seeking help. The most frequent bothersome VMSs were hot flashes (41%), night sweats (31%), and over-heating (31%). Almost 87% of women experienced three or more simultaneous symptoms. Emotions verbalized by women indicate how intensely hot flushes and neuro-vegetative symptoms impact life: embarrassment, confusion, depression, impact on social/personal relationships, and guiltiness. Up to 43% of all women suffering from VMS were not treating the symptoms. Although 92% of women reported prior knowledge of the VMS condition, only 12% do something about it straight away after the appearance of VMS. This survey provided real-life observational data from a large population of peri-menopausal women and highlighted the important impact of VMS, its neurovegetative comorbidities and its significant burden effect on social life. Physicians must be more adaptive and inquisitive to evaluate and detect incipient VMS, as this will indicate the vulnerability to severe symptomatology and pathological brain aging.

血管舒缩症状（Vasomotor Symptoms, VMSs）是绝经女性最常见的不适症状。此外，情感症状可能与血管舒缩症状共享共同的病理生理机制。本项多中心定量研究基于一项线上问卷调查，旨在评估血管舒缩症状对意大利围绝经期及绝经后女性的影响，并明确患者寻求医疗帮助的主要阻碍因素。最令人困扰的血管舒缩症状依次为潮热（41%）、夜间盗汗（31%）及躯体燥热（31%）；近87%的女性同时出现3种及以上症状。女性所表达的主观情绪反映出潮热与神经自主神经症状对其生活的影响程度：窘迫感、思维混乱、抑郁、对社交/个人关系的负面影响以及愧疚感。多达43%的血管舒缩症状患者未对症状进行治疗。尽管92%的女性表示此前已了解血管舒缩症状相关情况，但仅12%的女性在症状出现后会立即采取应对措施。本调查从大样本围绝经期人群中获取了真实世界观察数据，明确了血管舒缩症状的严重影响、其伴发的神经自主神经共病，以及其对社会生活造成的显著负担。临床医师应更具灵活性与探究性，以评估并识别早期血管舒缩症状，这将有助于判断患者发生严重症状及病理性脑衰老的易感性。