Menopause : the journal of the North American Menopause Society
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The current study was conducted on a subsample of postmenopausal women with a high frequency of hot flashes who participated in the Norwegian Acupuncture on Hot Flushes Among Menopausal Women study. The purpose of this study was to examine the prevalence of depressive symptoms, as measured by the Beck Depression Inventory; the effect of acupuncture therapy for menopausal hot flashes on depressive symptoms; and the associations between depressive symptoms and hot flashes, sleep disturbances, and self-reported health. ⋯ Postmenopausal women experiencing a high frequency of hot flashes reported a high prevalence of depressive symptoms compared with the general female population. Study results lend support to previous findings of an increased risk for depression during menopause, at least in women with severe hot flashes. Results further indicate that symptoms of depression in postmenopausal women may be alleviated with limited resources.