Relationship between the time of menopause and memory

Does the menopause affect the memory??

At some point, women come to the so-called menopause during their lifetime. Does the time of menopause affect memory? Researchers now found out that a later menopause is associated with a low memory benefit.

The researchers from University College London found in their current study that the time of onset of menopause affects memory. The physicians published the results of their study in the English-language journal "Neurology".

Menopause can cause some health effects in women, such as hot flushes and hair loss. Latest results now show that menopause even affects memory. (Picture: Picture-Factory / fotolia.com)

Lifelong hormonal processes affect memory

The results of the study indicate that lifelong hormonal processes, and not just short-term fluctuations during menopause, may be associated with memory skills, says study author Dr. Diana Kuh from University College London.

Examination had 1,315 subjects

A total of 1,315 women participated in the study, which were part of the National Research Council on Health and Development in Great Britain. These women were medically monitored since their birth in March 1946. All participants tested their verbal memory skills and cognitive processing speed at the age of 43 and 53, between 60 and 64 years, and at the age of 69.

What was investigated?

The researchers collected information about the age at the onset of menopause (either naturally or due to the removal of the ovaries) and asked if hormone replacement therapy was performed. They also consider other factors that could influence thinking and memory skills, such as cognitive abilities, literacy, smoking, and the type of employment. Menopause defines the age of the last menstrual cycle. It started on average for women with natural menopause at the age of 51.5 years.

What were the results??

For the verbal memory test, participants were asked to play a 15-point list of words and terms three times with a maximum score of 45. At the age of 43, the participants remembered an average of 25.8 words. At the age of 69, they then remembered an average of 23.3 words. The researchers found that among 846 women who naturally experienced menopause, women who later had their menopause had higher verbal memory and remembered 0.17 additional words per year. After the researchers also considered other factors that could affect memory, the difference was 0.09 additional words per year.

Further research is needed

The difference in verbal memory for menopause 10 years later was small. But it is possible to use this benefit for a reduced risk of developing dementia, says dr. Cow in a press release. However, further research is needed to take a closer look at this topic.

Effects of hormone therapy

The relationship between age at onset of menopause and memory is not affected by the use of hormone therapy, the experts explain. In 313 women who had had menopause due to surgery, the relationship between age at surgery and memory is no longer present, if other memory-influencing factors were taken into account, the researchers report.

Information processing is not affected

When testing how fast the women were able to process information, there was no association between the age at menopause and the test results. This difference could be attributed to the role of the estrogen receptor, which helps to consolidate memory formation and storage of information. cow.

There were limitations in the study?

Limitations of the study were that the tests of memory and processing speed were performed relatively far apart in time. In addition, no information was available on the dose of women taking hormone therapy. (As)