This moderate to large effect size , showing lower ratings of depressed mood in treated patients compared with controls , implicated HRT as a potential treatment of or prophylactic for depression in menopausal women .
One can generalize from the studies review ed here only with great caution , but there is little evidence to support the use of estradiol to improve mood in nondepressed patients ( not surprisingly ) and some evidence to support the antidepressant efficacy of estradiol in perimenopausal but not postmenopausal women
BACKGROUND Controversy regarding the antidepressant efficacy of hormone replacement therapy ( HRT ) stems almost from its inception and reflects the same method ological inconsistencies that have compromised efforts to determine whether the perimenopause is accompanied by an increase in mood symptoms or depression .
Since this publication , multiple studies have aim ed to discern the relationship between HRT and menopausal mood .
METHODS The purpose of this systematic review is to examine the findings and quality of the evidence amassed since Zweifel and O'Brien 's meta- analysis .
A longitudinal analysis of the association between menopause and depression. Results from the Massachusetts Women's Health Study.
The present article prospect ively examines the effect of change in menopause status on depression , while controlling for prior depression . This is a longitudinal follow-up of previous cross-sectional analyses reported by McKinlay , McKinlay , and Brambilla who examined the relative contribution of menopause to depression . The data derive from the Massachusetts Women 's Health Study , a 5-year longitudinal study of a cohort of 2565 women aged 45 to 55 years at baseline ( 1981 to 1982 ) . Results show that prior depression is the variable most predictive of subsequent depression , as measured by the Center for Epidemiologic Studies -Depression ( CES-D ) scale . Onset of natural menopause was not associated with increased risk of depression . Experiencing a long perimenopausal period ( at least 27 months ) , however , was associated with increased risk of depression . The association between a long perimenopause and depression appeared to be explained by increased menopausal symptoms rather than by the menopause status itself . The observed increase in depression during a lengthy perimenopause appears to be transitory
This moderate to large effect size , showing lower ratings of depressed mood in treated patients compared with controls , implicated HRT as a potential treatment of or prophylactic for depression in menopausal women .
One can generalize from the studies review ed here only with great caution , but there is little evidence to support the use of estradiol to improve mood in nondepressed patients ( not surprisingly ) and some evidence to support the antidepressant efficacy of estradiol in perimenopausal but not postmenopausal women
BACKGROUND Controversy regarding the antidepressant efficacy of hormone replacement therapy ( HRT ) stems almost from its inception and reflects the same method ological inconsistencies that have compromised efforts to determine whether the perimenopause is accompanied by an increase in mood symptoms or depression .
Since this publication , multiple studies have aim ed to discern the relationship between HRT and menopausal mood .
METHODS The purpose of this systematic review is to examine the findings and quality of the evidence amassed since Zweifel and O'Brien 's meta- analysis .