Women's Health: Higher Incidences of Depression Linked to Approaching Menopause

April 5, 2006 Philadelphia, PA -- First of all, for you women approaching middle-age, it's not all in your head. Those days you're feeling blue may be attributed to your body's changes as you approach menopause, at least according to two recent studies.

" It's not all in your head"

-- Ellen Freeman, University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine

Unfortunately those women that experienced PMS in their younger years were found to have higher incidences of depression related to approaching menopause. The key is to realize that it's real and that there are treatments.

In the "natural remedy" world, both exercise and fish oils have been found to combat depression. If the cases are extreme, then there are therapy sessions and/or medications to treat depression.

Fortunately, most women reach menopause without suffering depression, but two new studies suggest that some may be more sensitive to the transition.

The Philadelphia Study

One of the studies measured hormone levels in 231 Philadelphia-area women over eight years and found that a woman's chances of tumbling into depression grew as her hormones changed.

Researchers found that women with a history of premenstrual syndrome, or PMS, were more likely to experience depression when they neared menopause. "It's not all in your head," said Ellen Freeman of the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine and a co-author of the Philadelphia study.

The Boston Study

A second study was performed in the Boston area. "There is a subgroup of women who, for multiple reasons, may be more vulnerable," said Dr. Lee Cohen of Harvard Medical School, a co-author, which followed 460 Boston-area women for six years.

Some women face depression as they approach mid-life. Two recent studies attribute it to approaching menopause.

(8/17/2005) ACE To Recognizes 'National Menopause Awareness Month' This September

(110/7/2004) Exercise and Menopause

(1/20/2005) Exercise Increases Serotonin to Combat Depression

Cohen said women and their doctors shouldn't discount a disabling depression during the transition from normal menstrual cycles to the time when a woman's periods cease.

"Those who develop depression really need to be treated" with talk therapy, antidepressants or both, he said. Hormone therapy may be helpful to some women, he said.

The federally funded studies, published in the April issue of Archives of General Psychiatry, looked only at women with no prior history of depression. The women were in their 30s and 40s when the studies began.

Depression Independent of Hot Flashes

Some medical experts have speculated that such depression may stem from sleep disruption caused by hot flashes. But both new studies found depression to be independent of that.

Source: Carla Johnson of the AP

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