Menopause DOES affect a woman's memory Women who have the most hot flushes have the greatest problems with memory during menopause They also have memory difficulties for the longest Women who have hot flushes during the menopause experience more memory problems, new research suggests. The study, published in the journal Menopause, showed that there is a direct link between hot flushes and memory problems. Researchers at the University of Illinois and Northwestern University in Chicago, U.S., tested the attention and recall of 68 women. All of the participants were aged between 44 and 62 and each was experiencing at least 35 hot flushes a week. Women who have hot flushes during the menopause experience more memory problems than those who do not. They also have memory problems for longer The women were also asked to complete questionnaires about their menopause symptoms, mood and memory. The results revealed that the women who had the most hot flushes performed worst on the memory test - and the worse the hot flushes, the longer the period of memory loss. The findings back-up support previous research on menopause-related memory loss. Researchers at the University of Rochester Medical Centre in New York found that fluctuating levels of female hormones can affect the memory. They found that women tend to be worst affecting during the first year of the menopause. However, they also discovered that the effects are unlikely to be permanent. Another previous study revealed that people who are overweight, smoke, or drink heavily, are more likely to suffer unpleasant symptoms during the menopause. Researchers at the University of Queensland found that women with unhealthy lifestyles are more likely to experience menopausal night sweats. People who are overweight, smoke, or drink heavily, are more likely to suffer unpleasant symptoms during the menopause They also found that well-educated women are less likely to develop these symptoms. Characteristic symptoms of the menopause include hot flushes, night sweats, vaginal dryness and irregular periods. But there are many symptoms that relate to hormones during the two to three years preceding the menopause (the "perimenopause"), says Professor John Studd, a consultant gynaecologist at the London PMS and Menopause Clinic. Among the other reported problems are headaches, formication of the skin - an itchy sensation like crawling insects - and thinning hair and skin, as well as memory problems, brain fog, confusion, depression and the inability to concentrate. Not everyone will experience these symptoms - it depends how sensitive they are to oestrogen and progesterone.