Effects of surgical menopause on psychological characteristics and lipid levels: The Healthy Women Study.

Abstract

The authors examined the effects of surgical menopause, with or without hormone replacement therapy (HRT), on psychosocial functioning and lipid levels in a population-based study of initially premenopausal women. Within 5 years of study entry, 28 women underwent hysterectomy, with 9 retaining their ovaries and 19 having bilateral salpingo oophorectomy (BSO), and with 173 premenopausal women as a comparison group. Women undergoing hysterectomy reported fewer stress symptoms and a more optimistic attitude at follow-up, whereas BSO cases without HRT had lower mean total high-density lipoprotein (HDL) and HDL2, relative to premenopausal women. Subject to limited power, the authors' findings suggest that surgical menopause among middle-aged women does not lead to negative psychological outcomes but that BSO in the absence of hormone use has significant adverse effects on the HDL and HDL2.

Psychosocial effects of hysterectomy

“…In the light of recent prospective studies, there is no evidence to conclude that hysterectomy is associated with psychiatric illness or depression [12,37,38,49,98,100,106]. This may be partially due to the availability of HRT following hysterectomy-oophorectomy, although in most studies, a subgroup of (surgically) menopausal women did not receive HRT.…”

A prospective study of outcomes after hysterectomy in mid-aged Australian-born women

“…Some observational studies have reported improvements in quality of life 3 and sexual functioning 4 following hysterectomy. Others have reported no significant changes 5,6 , and yet others an increased likelihood of having sexual problems 7 and urinary incontinence 8,9 . Kritz-Silverstein and colleagues 10 reported on the long-term effects of hysterectomy and found that women who had experienced a hysterectomy on average 28 years earlier suffered no long-term adverse effects on health-related quality of life. Farquhar and colleagues [11][12][13] followed a younger cohort of women (aged less than 46 years at the time of hysterectomy).…”

Genistein exposure inhibits growth and alters steroidogenesis in adult mouse antral follicles

“…Proper functioning of ovarian follicles is absolutely required for normal female fertility and estradiol biosynthesis. Further, low estradiol levels have been associated with reduced fertility, cardiovascular disease, mood disorders, adverse menopausal symptoms, and osteoporosis (Bush et al ., 1987; Armamento-Villareal et al ., 1992; Bagur and Mautalen, 1992; Christiansen, 1993; Everson et al ., 1995; Cooper and Sandler, 1998; Mosca, 1998; Dennerstein et al ., 1999; Hu et al ., 1999). Thus, botanical compounds that target the ovary have the potential to adversely impact overall female health.…”