Menopause and mental well-being

Menopause is a time in a woman’s life when biological and social changes can greatly impact health. While much is known about the physiological health consequences of the menopause, much less is known about how the menopause impacts mental wellbeing. We will use data from the CLSA to better understand how the menopause is associated with satisfaction with life and depression and depressive symptoms. We will also explore if menopause is associated with how women say they feel about their mental health. Finally, we will investigate if the use of hormone replacement therapy in middle aged and older women is associated with improved mental health after menopause and if so, whether this improvement differs by the type and timing of this therapy.

We conducted analyses assessing the association of menopausal status and hormone therapy use in all women with depressive symptoms. In postmenopausal women, the association of years since menopause and the timing of menopause with depressive symptoms was assessed. Lastly, the association of the duration of hormone therapy use with depressive symptoms was assessed in participants reporting current hormone therapy use. All models were adjusted for age, education level, household income, and martial status, body mass index, smoking status, alcohol consumption, social support availability and social participation.

We found that premature menopause (menopause before 40 years of age) compared to menopause occurring between the ages of 45 and 55 years was associated with a 1.45 greater odds of depressive symptoms. Women using hormone therapy had a 1.21 greater odds of depressive symptoms. These findings led us to conclude that considering the timing of menopause and menopausal symptoms are important for clinicians to consider when assessing mental health.