Still Having Hot Flashes in Your 60s?How Common It Is
Menopause & HormonesArticleHot flashes are supposed to be over by 60, but for many women they aren't. In an Australian survey, 6.5% of women aged 60 to 65 still had moderate to severe hot flashes or night sweats, and few were being treated. In the US SWAN study, women whose flashes began early had them for a median of more than 11.8 years. Here is what the numbers show and which treatments are still on the table.
If you’re past 60 and still fanning yourself in meetings, you have company, and you may be under-treated.
How long hot flashes last
The SWAN study followed 3,302 women at 7 US sites; 1,449 had frequent hot flashes or night sweats.1
| Group | Median length of frequent hot flashes |
|---|---|
| All women with frequent flashes | 7.4 years in total, 4.5 years after the last period1 |
| Started while periods were still regular or just changing | More than 11.8 years in total, 9.4 years after the last period1 |
| African American women | 10.1 years1 |
A median is the middle, so half of women have them longer.1 Start at 48 with a long run, and 60 isn’t out of reach.
How many women in their 60s
An Australian survey of 2,020 women aged 40 to 65 counted moderate to severe hot flashes or night sweats:2
- 28.5% of women past menopause and under 55
- 15.1% at 55 to 59
- 6.5% at 60 to 65
Smoking went with more of them.2 Only 5.9% of all the women used hormone therapy and 0.7% a non-hormone prescription, so the authors called these symptoms largely untreated.2 For women 65 and up, a review of 23 studies found hot flashes in a “considerable proportion,” though the estimates varied too much to pin down one number.3
What’s still on the table
The Menopause Society’s 2023 review recommends several non-hormone options with good evidence: cognitive behavioral therapy, clinical hypnosis, some antidepressants (SSRIs and SNRIs), gabapentin and fezolinetant, plus oxybutynin.4 See what helps hot flashes without hormones, fezolinetant monitoring and oxybutynin for hot flashes.
Hormone therapy is still the most effective, and the review says to consider it within 10 years of the last period.4 Starting later is a different conversation: see starting hormone therapy after 60.
Not every hot spell at 65 is menopause. New night sweats with fever, weight loss or swollen glands need a check. See why you sweat so much at night.
Try: “I’m 63 and still have six or seven hot flashes a day. My last period was at 52. Which treatments make sense for me now, given my age and health?”
My Body Changed. Now What? covers this in Chapter 4, “The Change Has a Shape,” in a section called “What Passes and What Stays.” It puts hot flashes in the “usually passes, over years” column, with the SWAN numbers as the asterisk on how many years. See the book.
This article is for general educational purposes only and is not medical advice. It isn't a substitute for diagnosis or treatment from a qualified healthcare professional who knows your health history. Night sweats that are new, or come with fever, weight loss, a cough or swollen glands, need a check rather than an assumption of menopause. Any vaginal bleeding after menopause needs prompt assessment. Girl Playbook does not endorse any specific product, test, or provider.
Girl Playbook sells this book. It provides education and worksheets, not individualized medical care.
Sources
The research behind this article, in the order it’s cited. How we source our articles.
- JAMA Internal Medicine (via PubMed Central), 2015Duration of menopausal vasomotor symptoms over the menopause transition (opens in a new tab)abcde
- Menopause journal, Australian survey (abstract via PubMed), 2015Moderate to severe vasomotor and sexual symptoms remain problematic for women aged 60 to 65 years (opens in a new tab)abc
- Climacteric (abstract via PubMed), 2015Vasomotor symptoms and urogenital atrophy in older women: a systematic review (opens in a new tab)↩
- The North American Menopause Society, now The Menopause Society (journal Menopause, abstract via PubMed), 2023The 2023 nonhormone therapy position statement of The North American Menopause Society (opens in a new tab)ab
Spotted something out of date? Tell us and we’ll check it.
