---
title: Do breast tenderness and hot flushes follow a pattern during the month?
description: Breast tenderness and night sweats clearly increased in the days before a period in most cycles. Daytime hot flushes did not show a clear pattern related to c
url: https://niyora.com/research/papers/cyclicity-of-breast-tenderness-and-night-time-vasomotor-symptoms-in-mid-life-2003/
---

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- Do breast tenderness and hot flushes follow a pattern during the month?

Study, 2003

# Do breast tenderness and hot flushes follow a pattern during the month?

Breast tenderness and night sweats clearly increased in the days before a period in most cycles. Daytime hot flushes did not show a clear pattern related to cycle timing overall, except in cycles when ovulation occurred.

 Moderate study design

24 mid-life women aged 47 years on average from a convenience sample

## What they did

24 women around age 47 kept daily diaries tracking breast tenderness, hot flushes, sleep, and body temperature across several menstrual cycles. Researchers measured whether symptoms were worse at specific times of the cycle.

## What they found

98 complete menstrual cycles from 24 women were analyzed. 90% of cycles involved ovulation. Breast tenderness peaked in the days before the period. Night sweats also peaked premenstrually. Daytime hot flushes were not consistently cyclic, though they did show a pattern in ovulatory cycles. 25% of cycles had a short luteal phase (less than 10 days).

## What it means for you

For most women in this age group, breast tenderness and night sweats do follow a monthly pattern. The study tracked only 24 women from one area, and they were volunteers who agreed to keep detailed diaries, so results may not apply to all mid-life women.

24

Number of women

98

Complete cycles analyzed

90%

Ovulatory cycles

## About the study

Original title Cyclicity of breast tenderness and night-time vasomotor symptoms in mid-life women: information collected using the Daily Perimenopause Diary Authors Hale GE, Hitchcock CL, Williams LA et al. Journal Climacteric : the journal of the International Menopause Society Year 2003 Study design Study Participants 14 What was tested None Read the paper [doi.org/10.1080/cmt.6.2.128.139](https://doi.org/10.1080/cmt.6.2.128.139)

## Topics

[Sleep and insomnia](https://niyora.com/research/topics/symptom-sleep/)[Bloating, breast tenderness and physical symptoms](https://niyora.com/research/topics/symptom-physical-symptoms/)[Perimenopause and menopause](https://niyora.com/research/topics/comorbidity-perimenopause/)

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