Influence of menopausal status on sleep and hot flashes throughout breast cancer adjuvant chemotherapy

Objectives: To examine the patterns and differences among sleep and hot flashes based on menopausal status (pre, peri, or post) in breast cancer adjuvant chemotherapy patients before, during, and after treatment. Design: Secondary analysis from a randomized clinical trial. Setting: Outpatient clinics and participants' homes. Patients/Participants: Two hundred nineteen (219) women; mean age of 52 years (29-79); postoperative, Stages I to IIIA breast cancer. Methods: Participants were randomized to a behavioral sleep intervention or a healthy eating control group. Variables measured were menopausal status (self-report), subjective sleep (Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index), objective sleep (actigraphy), perceived interruption of sleep by hot flashes (diary), and demographic/medical characteristics. Data reported were collected 48 hours before initial chemotherapy, at treatment 4, and 30 days after the last treatment. Analysis included descriptives and repeated measures mixed model analysis of variance. Results: Objective sleep and the perceived interruption of sleep by hot flashes changed significantly over time. Sleep and hot flashes differed over time by menopausal status. Only hot flashes were significantly different by study group and by menopausal status over time. Conclusion: Women's menopausal status when starting chemotherapy was associated with differing patterns of sleep and hot flashes over time.