Depressive Symptoms in Postmenopausal Women: Results from the MEDIS Study

Abstract

Data regarding the factors associated with depressive symptoms are limited, especially in postmenopausal women. The aim of this study was to investigate to what extent depressive symptoms were present in postmenopausal women, to explore characteristics associated with depressive symptoms and to determine if time since menopause was independently associated with depressive symptoms. Data collected within the Mediterranean Islands (MEDIS) Study, a health and nutrition survey of elderly people living on Mediterranean islands was used. A total of 851 postmenopausal women living in various Greek islands, Cyprus, and Malta participated in the study. Depressive symptoms were evaluated using the Geriatric Depression Scale (GDS). Age-adjusted logistic regression analysis showed that a year's increase in the time since menopause increased the likelihood of postmenopausal women having severe depressive symptoms by 3% (odds ratio [OR] per 1 year = 1.03, 95% CI 1.001-1.05). This positive association was also evident when other potential confounding factors (i.e, living conditions, financial status, physical activity, adherence to the Mediterranean diet, smoking habits, and several clinical conditions) were also taken into account in multivariable analyses. Primary health care practitioners and public health care authorities could use the findings of this study to identify depressive symptoms early in postmenopausal women.

Association of Age at Menopause and Duration of Reproductive Period With Depression After Menopause

“…Of these 140 articles, 8 studies provided the requested analysis or raw data for analysis by the leading research team. [33][34][35][36][37][38][39][40] Details regarding selection of the studies and contacting of the authors, as well as the full reference list, are available in eMethods 2 and the eReferences in the Supplement.…”

“…Thirteen of the 14 eligible studies contained data that could be included in the analysis on treating age at menopause as a continuous variable, [20][21][22][23][24][33][34][35][36][37][38][39][40] and 4 studies were included in the analysis on treating age at menopause as a categorical variable. 19,22,24,40 Five studies contributed data for analysis of the duration of the reproductive period, which was considered a continuous variable.…”

“…20,21,37,39,40 The Table summarizes the abstracted data of the 14 nonoverlapping eligible studies (67 714 unique women). Ten of the studies were cross-sectional 19,21,22,24,[33][34][35][36][37][38] and 4 were cohort 20,23,39,40 studies. Depression was diagnosed by validated self-report instruments in 12 studies.…”

Association of physical fitness with health-related quality of life in early postmenopause

“…Postmenopausal women usually experience higher anxiety and depressive symptoms [9, 35], so it is important to highlight that static balance showed a marked association with the SF-36-mental health dimension and with the SF-36 mental component summary. Balance requires concentration as well as mental equilibrium, which could partially explain this strong relationship.…”

“…These hormonal changes occurring in women during and after menopause transition may also have a relevant impact on health-related quality of life (HRQoL) [5, 6], especially at the psychological, physical and sexual spheres [7, 8]. Indeed, the postmenopausal period is also characterized by higher incidence of depressive symptoms [9]. Furthermore, early postmenopause is a relevant period in women’s life that is characterized by even a greater prevalence of vasomotor menopausal symptoms such as hot flushes, which negatively impact their HRQoL in comparison with pre-menopausal women [6].…”