Key Summary
- Women reach menopause between the ages of 45 and 55, and their periods stop due to low hormone levels.
- They may experience hot flushes, low mood and sleep problems.
- Menopause has also been linked to cognitive decline, such as memory, attention and language deficits.
A new study by Cambridge University has found that menopause leads to the reduction of grey matter in key brain regions, which also tend to be affected by Alzheimer’s disease.
The study, published in Psychological Medicine, analysed data from the UK Biobank of almost 125,000 women.
It found that hormone replacement therapy (HRT) does not appear to stop the fall in grey matter, though it can slow the decline.
Women reach menopause between the ages of 45 and 55, and their periods stop due to low hormone levels.
They may experience hot flushes, low mood and sleep problems.
Menopause has also been linked to cognitive decline, such as memory, attention and language deficits.
Once menopause sets in, the researchers found significant reductions in volume of grey matter - brain tissue that contains nerve cell bodies and helps process information, control movement and manage memory and emotions.
The differences occurred in the hippocampus (responsible for forming and storing memories); entorhinal cortex (the ‘gateway’ for passing information between the hippocampus and the rest of the brain); and the anterior cingulate cortex (part of the brain that helps you manage emotions, make decisions, and focus your attention).
The study's senior author, Professor Barbara Sahakian, said, “The brain regions where we saw these differences are ones that tend to be affected by Alzheimer’s disease. Menopause could make these women vulnerable further down the line.
"While not the whole story, it may help explain why we see almost twice as many cases of dementia in women than in men.”
Dr Christelle Langley from the Department of Psychiatry said, “Most women will go through menopause, and it can be a life-changing event, whether they take HRT or not. A healthy lifestyle - exercising, keeping active and eating a healthy diet, for example - is particularly important during this period to help mitigate some of its effects."
She said during menopause, women should let others know what they are going through and seek help.
Menopause also appeared to have an impact on cognition, with post-menopausal women displaying slower reaction times than those yet to start menopause.
Dr Katharina Zühlsdorff from the Department of Psychology at the University of Cambridge, said, “You can imagine being asked a question at a quiz - while you might still arrive at the correct answer as your younger self, younger people would no doubt get there much faster. Menopause seems to accelerate this process, but HRT appears to put the brakes on, slowing the ageing process slightly.”
The study was funded by the Wellcome Trust, with support from the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) Cambridge Biomedical Research Centre.
