Hormones and Menopausal Status as Predictors of Depression in Womenin Transition to Menopause

Abstract

WHETHER DEPRESSIVE symptoms are associated with changes in reproductivehormone levels such as those that occur during transition to menopause isa controversial issue in women's health. The low estrogen levels of postmenopausalwomen were long believed to be associated with involutional melancholia, andthe low estrogen theory was supported by the results of estrogen administration,which reduced depressive symptoms in some studies,^1-3 althoughothers found no greater effect than with placebo use.⁴ Arecent study⁵ indicated that estrogen deficiencymay play a role in depression in premenopausal women, although other researchers⁶ suggested that the destabilizing effect of repeatedfluctuations during menstrual cycles rather than low levels of estrogen maybe the important factor in dysphoric mood in cycling women.