In a recent study, American researchers had shown that postmenopausal women did less well on various memory tests than premenopausal women. But it seemed difficult to tell if these blackouts were really due to menopause, or just age.
A new study, this time in younger women with premature menopause, proves that estrogen, hormones that protect against heart disease and osteoporosis, also protect against cognitive decline. And that the absence of estrogen, after menopause or at early menopause, can have long-term adverse effects on the brain.
No increased risk of dementia
For this study, published in BJOG, an international journal of gynecology and obstetrics, researchers tested 5,000 postmenopausal women. Then they repeated these tests, two, then four, and finally seven years later.
About 7.6% of women had premature menopause (before age 40) and 13% had early menopause (between 41 and 45 years). But when compared with menopausal women after 50, those who had premature menopause fared much worse on visual memory tests and fluency tests. “We found that they had a 35% more risk of suffering from a decrease in coordination between the brain and muscles and an overall reduction in cognitive function. But there is no risk. increased dementia “explain researchers at La Colombière Hospital in Montpellier. “Unfortunately these disorders caused by early surgical menopause or ovarian failure are only partially compensated by hormone replacement therapy.”