JAMA Internal Medicine (SWAN): Duration of Menopausal Vasomotor Symptoms (2015)

Tier 1: Established: peer-reviewed research or government health authority
Publisher: JAMA Internal Medicine (Study of Women's Health Across the Nation; Avis NE, Crawford SL, Greendale G, et al.) · Published: February 16, 2015 · Accessed: September 9, 2026

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Claims this source supports

• In the SWAN cohort, the median total duration of vasomotor symptoms (hot flashes and night sweats) across the menopause transition was approximately 7.4 years (Avis et al., JAMA Internal Medicine, 2015; PMID 25686030; abstract corroborated via jamanetwork.com/fullarticle/2110996 and pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/25686030).
• Frequent vasomotor symptoms lasted more than 7 years for more than half of the women who experienced them, and persisted for approximately 4.5 years after the final menstrual period (same study, abstract).
• Duration differed by race/ethnicity: secondary reporting of the same SWAN analysis (MDedge ob/gyn; ClearedRx summary) puts African American women's median vasomotor symptom duration at roughly 10.1 years versus about 6.5 years for White women, with African American heritage associated with longer duration (Avis et al., 2015).
• Earlier onset and greater severity of menopausal symptoms in Black women are reported separately in UCL research amplified by ITV/FemTech World (Mar-Aug 2026) - see source ucl-black-women-menopause-barriers.