Menopausal symptoms within a Hispanic cohort: SWAN, the Study of Women's Health Across the Nation.

Introduction Since the designation of people as Hispanic involves the amalgamation of a number of different cultures and languages, we sought to test the hypothesis that menopausal symptoms would differ among Hispanic women, based upon country of origin and degree of acculturation.Methods A total of 419 women, aged 42–52 years at baseline, were categorized as: Central American (CA, n = 29) or South American (SA, n = 106), Puerto Rican (PR, n = 56), Dominican (D, n = 42), Cuban (Cu, n = 44) and non-Hispanic Caucasian (n = 142). We assessed vasomotor symptoms, vaginal dryness and trouble in sleeping. Hispanics and non-Hispanic Caucasians were compared using the χ2 test, t test or non-parametric alternatives; ANOVA or Kruskal–Wallis testing examined differences among the five Hispanic sub-groups. Multivariable regression models used PR women as the reference group.Results Hispanic women were overall less educated, less acculturated (p < 0.001 for both) than non-Hispanic Caucasians and more of them reported v...