Prevalencia de insomnio y deterioro de la calidad de vida en posmenopáusicas que presentan oleadas de calor residentes en el Caribe Colombiano

objective: comparing the prevalence of subjective insomnia and severe deterioration in the quality of life in a group of postmenopausal women suffering from hot flushes to that obtained in another group not suffering from hot flushes. materials and methods: this was a cross-sectional study of 589 40-59-year-old postmenopausal women forming part of a quality of life study covering menopause and colombian ethnic groups (cavimec). women suffering hot flushes were compared to others who were not suffering such symtomatology. the menopause rating scale was used for evaluating the quality of life and the athens insomnia scale for insomnia. results: 49.2% (290/589) of the women stated that they had suffered from hot flushes and the prevalence of insomnia for the whole group was 34.8% (31.0-38.8 95%ci). the prevalence of insomnia was 45.5% (37.9-51.4 95%ci) in the group of menopausal women suffering hot flushes whilst prevalence in groups in which hot flushes had not occurred was 24.4% (19.7-29.7 95%ci). hot flushes increased the risk of insomnia 2.07 times. the prevalence of severe deterioration in the quality of life was 17.2% (13.1-22.1 95%ci) in women suffering hot flushes and 1.7% (0.5-3.9 95%ci) in women without them. conclusions: insomnia and severe deterioration in the quality of life was more prevalent in women suffering hot flushes than in women free from such manifestation.