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That could explain why emotional well-being and romantic relationships were ranked as the two areas most affected by menopause symptoms, ahead of professional life, said Dr.

James Simon, a gynecologist and menopause specialist at George Washington University in Washington, D.C., who helped design the survey questionnaire.

Plenty of earlier studies have examined how menopause affects women in general, said Simon, but "a generation ago, there weren't enough female executives to bother" doing a survey of that group.

He said menopause symptoms may be more prevalent because of the growing obesity problem.

"Fatter women are more likely to have hot flashes than thinner women," he explained.

Simon said he was not compensated for the survey by Barr Laboratories of Woodcliff Lake, N.J.

The company makes Cenestin, a synthetic, plant-derived prescription drug for menopause symptoms.

The survey was conducted online by pollster Harris Interactive in February.

The results will be reported next week in San Diego at the annual meeting of the North American Menopause Society, a doctors' group.

Simon is the group's immediate past president.

Amy Niles, president of the National Women's Health Resource Center in Red Bank, N.J., said past educational campaigns about menopause have not targeted women in the work force.

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