A study published this month in Nature Mental Health, a renowned scientific journal, showed that perimenopause may increase the risk of mental disorders, such as depression and mania a condition characterized by elevated mood and which is generally associated with bipolar disorder. Perimenopause is the period preceding the last menstrual period and characterizes the transition between the reproductive and non-reproductive phases of a woman.
The relationship between menopause and mood swings has been well established by previous studies, however, according to the authors of the study, knowledge of the risk of a broad spectrum of psychiatric disorders associated with menopause is still limited. Given this, the objective of the study was to investigate whether perimenopause could be associated with an increased risk of developing psychiatric disorders compared to the reproductive phase.
To do this, the researchers used the UK Biobank, a large database in the United Kingdom, and analyzed information on menopause and psychiatric history from 128,294 women who were enrolled in the bank. The data were obtained from nurse-administered interviews and online questionnaires.
Incidence rates of psychiatric disorders during menopause (four years around the final menstrual period) were compared with the premenopausal reference period (six to 10 years before the final menstrual period). Rates were calculated for depressive disorder, mania, and schizophrenia spectrum disorders.
According to the study, women who were in perimenopause had a 52% higher risk of developing some type of psychiatric disorder compared to the period before menopause. Regarding mania, the risk was 112% higher in this period. Depression was 30% more common in perimenopause. On the other hand, no relationship was found between perimenopause and the emergence of schizophrenia spectrum disorders.
“When analyzing, the study can observe that there is, in fact, an association found between mood disorders, particularly depression and mania, in the menopause period than in the reproductive period, clearly implicating, in a significant way, the occurrences of hormonal deficiency of menopause with the appearance of these symptoms”, analyzes César Eduardo Fernandes, specialist in the treatment of climacteric and menopause symptoms at Grupo Santa Joana, CNN . He was not involved in the study.
“The work draws attention to the need for doctors to be more attentive to the appearance of psychiatric symptoms and to make a temporal connection with the onset of menopause,” adds the specialist.
Relationship between menopause and the brain
Menopause is characterized by the last menstrual period and occurs when the ovary stops producing hormones for ovulation. The period before menopause is called perimenopause, which can generally occur between the ages of 42 and 52.
“During this period, there is a lack of female hormones, estrogen. The lack of these has repercussions on the woman’s health as a whole, affecting several organs and tissues, including the brain,” explains Fernandes.
The expert explains that synapses, which are connections and communications between neurons, occur in the brain. This connection occurs with the help of neurotransmitters, chemical substances that carry information from one neuron to another. This is the case with serotonin and adrenaline, for example.
“It is known that estrogens play a fundamental role in both the synthesis of these neurotransmitters and their release into the synaptic cleft, the region where one neuron makes contact with another,” explains Fernandes. “Therefore, there is biological plausibility in understanding that estrogen deficiency can compromise brain function and, in this way, lead to mood disorders, such as depression and mania,” he states.
Furthermore, Fernandes emphasizes that menopause itself can have significant effects on women’s quality of life, especially with regard to libido, which can be reduced at this stage, and on self-esteem. “In addition to hormonal deficiency, other variables such as life history, emotional relationships, professional and family results can interfere with mood disorders that occur during this period,” he states.
However, it is worth remembering that mood disorders are not exclusively caused by hormonal deficiency. “There is also a heredity factor that must be considered,” Fernandes emphasizes.
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This content was originally published in Menopause may increase the risk of psychiatric disorders, says study on the CNN Brasil website.
Source: CNN Brasil
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