Year: 2015
Type: dissertation
Study designs: Systematic Review, Meta-Analysis
Abstract: Background: Women are at higher risk to suffer from depressive symptoms or develop major depression.It is suggested that stages of hormonal fluctuation during a women's lifespan runs parallel with an increased risk for mood disturbances.One of these stages of interest is the menopausal transition, also called the perimenopausal stage: the last stage of the reproductive lifespan in a women's life.Aim: The purpose of this meta-analysis was to synthesize the existing studies of the relationship between menopausal stage and depression.Method: Based on the PRISMA statement a systematic literature research was performed using PubMed.In total eleven studies on perimenopausal stage and depressive symptoms and two perimenopause and risk of depression were selected.The results of group comparisons were summarized using the log odds ratio and its estimated standard error and by using the reported group mean and the number of participants per group.Results: Results confirm the expectation that perimenopausal women were at significantly increased risk of depression and to report higher levels of depressive symptoms as compared to premenopausal women.Conclusion: The perimenopause is a time of a significant increased risk to have a first onset depression, and menopausal women are found to suffer more from depressive symptoms when compared to premenopausal women.This meta-analysis adds body to the research of the link between reproductive aging and depression, with the menopausal transition as a significant stage.
Author: Dijk, Julia van
Language: English
Subfield: Endocrinology, Diabetes and Metabolism
Field: Medicine
Domain: Health Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W7046453491