Menopause
Women approaching menopause may face depression
By IANS
Apr 5, 2006 - 1:42:00 PM

Women approaching menopause are likely to face depression, says a study that suggests that such women should go for aggressive treatment.

Depression is a substantial illness with significant morbidity for patients and their families although it is a problem that can be managed, reports the health portal WebMd.

Lee S. Cohen and other researchers at the Massachusetts General Hospital studied 460 Boston women aged 36 to 45 for up to six years and found strongest evidences that hormonal changes may be at least partially to blame for it.

The studied women were pre-menopausal at enrolment, meaning they still had regular periods or had not undergone other changes indicative of transition to menopause.

None of the women had ever been diagnosed with major depression. But those who entered perimenopause during the study period were almost twice as likely as those who didn't to develop significant symptoms of depression, according to the findings of the study that appeared in the April issue of the journal Archives of General Psychiatry.

The risk was greater in perimenopausal women who also had hot flashes, but it was still greatly elevated in those who did not have this and other common symptoms associated with transitioning to menopause, Cohen said.

Researchers argue in favour of aggressive treatment of both menopausal symptoms and depression symptoms occurring during the transition to menopause.

"There is a tendency to dismiss symptoms of depression as part and parcel of this transition, but they shouldn't be discounted," Cohen said.

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