Menopause is not linked to depression and other mental health problems for all women. Only three groups are at true increased risk.
- Menopause does not uniformly increase the risk of depression and other mental health problems among all women.
- Three groups of women are more at risk: those who have already suffered from depression in their life, those who have trouble sleeping due to hot flashes and those facing a stressful event.
- For researchers, doctors should not assume that depressive symptoms are linked only to menopause. It is essential to study other possible elements.
Health professionals agree that menopause impacts women’s mental health. A new review article from researchers at Brigham and Women’s Hospital challenges that thinking. They found no evidence that it increases the risk of depression and other mental health problems.
Depression and menopause: 3 groups of women are at risk
To examine the relationship between depression and menopause, scientists looked at 12 prospective studies on this topic. In their article published in the journal The Lancet, They say they found no evidence that menopause led to an increased risk of mental health problems – including depressive symptoms, anxiety, bipolar disorder or psychosis – in all women.
However, some patients were more likely to report depressive symptoms at this time of their lives:
- those who have already suffered from depression;
- those with seriously disturbed sleep due to nocturnal hot flashes;
- those who experienced a stressful event at the time of their menopause.
“In addition to creating negative expectations for people approaching menopause, the potential misattribution of psychological distress and psychiatric disorders to menopause could harm women by delaying accurate diagnosis and treatment”say the researchers in a communicated.
Mental health: the history of postmenopausal women must be taken into account
Researchers recognize that the transition to menopause can be emotionally taxing due to hormonal fluctuations. But, they remind us that this period of life also coincides with significant stressful events in midlife such as changes in family and/or professional situation. According to them, it is difficult to distinguish the contribution of each of these factors to their mental health.
Scientists say it is essential that healthcare professionals consider the history, previous mental health diagnoses and current situation of patients when they experience mental health symptoms at menopause.
“The take-home message for women and their doctors is that we should not assume that if someone is experiencing mental health symptoms during the menopause transition that these two things are linked.”, explains Dr Hadine Joffe, co-author of the study. “We don’t want to invalidate the fact that some people will experience mental health symptoms during the menopause transition, but it’s not guaranteed.”
