Postmenopausal weight gain adds to breast cancer risk
Journal of the American Medical Association 2006; 296: 185-92
Assessing the association of adult weight gain since age 18 years: and since menopause with the risk of postmenopausal breast cancer.

Gaining weight after the menopause appears to be a pertinent risk factor for breast cancer, a long-term follow-up study suggests.

"These data suggest that weight gain during adult life, specifically since the menopause, increases the risk of breast cancer among postmenopausal women, whereas weight loss after menopause is associated with a decreased risk of breast cancer," say Heather Eliassen (Brigham and Women's Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts, USA) and colleagues.

"Thus, in addition to other known benefits of healthy weight, our results provide another reason for women approaching menopause to maintain or lose weight, as appropriate."

The results are based on an analysis of data from the Nurses' Health Study. The association of breast cancer with weight change was assessed since age 18 years in 87,143 women who were followed-up for up to 26 years, and since menopause in 49,514 women.

Women who gained at least 25 kg since age 18 years were found to be 45 percent more likely to develop breast cancer than those who maintained their weight.

In addition, putting on just 10 kg or more of weight since the menopause was linked to an 18 percent increased risk, compared with weight maintenance. On the contrary, among women who had never used HRT, losing at least 10 kg of weight since the menopause and keeping it off reduced breast cancer risk by 57 percent.

Meditation helps women cope with hot flashes
Menopause 2006; 13: 760-9
Assessing the feasibility and effectiveness of a mindfulness-based stress reduction program for helping women cope with hot flashes.

Meditation could help women cope with hot flashes and this potential should be further investigated, say US researchers.

Mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) is a program that uses mindfulness meditation to cope with intense symptoms, chronic medical conditions, and difficult emotions.

The researchers tested the value of an MBSR program in women experiencing at least seven moderate-to-severe hot flashes each day, as a variety of studies have suggested that hot flashes correlate with stress and are more severe in women who struggle to cope.

Fifteen women attended eight weekly MBSR sessions and were assessed for quality of life and hot flashes for 11 weeks.

During this time, scores for quality of life and median hot flash severity significantly improved. The weekly average hot flash severity score decreased by 40 percent. Individual interviews at the end of the study confirmed the improvements in hot flashes seen in daily diaries.

"These results provide preliminary positive evidence of the feasibility and efficacy of MBSR in supporting women who are experiencing severe hot flashes, and it warrants further investigation," the researchers conclude.