Relations among menopausal symptoms, sleep disturbance and depressive symptoms in midlife.

OBJECTIVES To investigate the relations among hot flashes, other menopausal symptoms, sleep quality and depressive symptoms in midlife women. METHODS A large population-based cross-sectional study of 639 women (ages 45-54 years) consisting of a questionnaire including the Center for Epidemiologic Studies-Depression (CES-D) Scale, demographics, health behaviors, menstrual history, and menopausal symptoms. RESULTS After controlling for menopausal status, physical activity level, smoking status and current self-reported health status elevated CES-D score is associated with frequent nocturnal hot flashes, frequent trouble sleeping, experiencing hot flashes, nausea, headaches, weakness, visual problems, vaginal discharge, irritability, muscle stiffness, and incontinence. CONCLUSIONS The present study found significant links between depressive symptoms and several menopausal symptoms including hot flashes, sleep disturbance, irritability, muscle stiffness, and incontinence after controlling for covariates. These findings suggest that a potential mechanism in which bothersome menopausal symptoms may influence depressed mood during the midlife is through sleep disturbance.

[1]  P. Kaufert,et al.  The Manitoba Project: a re-examination of the link between menopause and depression. , 1992, Maturitas.

[2]  N. Avis,et al.  A longitudinal analysis of the association between menopause and depression. Results from the Massachusetts Women's Health Study. , 1994, Annals of epidemiology.

[3]  Donald B. Percival,et al.  Depressed mood during the menopausal transition and early postmenopause: observations from the Seattle Midlife Women's Health Study , 2008, Menopause.

[4]  G. Robinson.  Psychotic and Mood Disorders Associated with the Perimenopausal Period , 2001, CNS drugs.

[5]  B. Rimer,et al.  Depressive Symptoms, Menopausal Status, and Climacteric Symptoms in Women at Midlife , 2001, Psychosomatic medicine.

[6]  M. Sammel,et al.  Hormones and menopausal status as predictors of depression in women in transition to menopause. , 2004, Archives of general psychiatry.

[7]  N. Woods,et al.  Symptom experiences of midlife women: observations from the Seattle Midlife Women's Health Study. , 1996, Maturitas.

[8]  L. Dennerstein,et al.  A population-based study of depressed mood in middle-aged, Australian-born women , 2004, Menopause.

[9]  J. Mckinlay,et al.  The relative contributions of endocrine changes and social circumstances to depression in mid-aged women. , 1987, Journal of health and social behavior.

[10]  J. Shaver,et al.  Review: Sleep Disturbance in Menopause , 2000 .

[11]  S. Crawford,et al.  Is there a menopausal syndrome? Menopausal status and symptoms across racial/ethnic groups. , 2001, Social science & medicine.

[12]  A. Sherwood,et al.  Association between hot flashes, sleep complaints, and psychological functioning among healthy menopausal women , 2006, International journal of behavioral medicine.

[13]  K. Matthews,et al.  Sleep disturbance in healthy middle-aged women. , 1998, Maturitas.

[14]  S. Crawford,et al.  Longitudinal study of hormone levels and depression among women transitioning through menopause , 2001, Climacteric.

[15]  K. Matthews,et al.  Sleep disturbance during the menopausal transition in a multi-ethnic community sample of women. , 2008, Sleep.

[16]  P. Ganz,et al.  Psychologic distress and natural menopause: a multiethnic community study. , 2001, American journal of public health.

[17]  M. Otto,et al.  Risk for new onset of depression during the menopausal transition: the Harvard study of moods and cycles. , 2006, Archives of general psychiatry.

[18]  M. Moline,et al.  Sleep in women across the life cycle from adulthood through menopause. , 2004, Sleep medicine reviews.

[19]  D. Rubinow,et al.  A longitudinal evaluation of the relationship between reproductive status and mood in perimenopausal women. , 2004, The American journal of psychiatry.

[20]  M. Moline,et al.  Sleep in women across the life cycle from adulthood through menopause. , 2003, The Medical clinics of North America.

[21]  K. Matthews,et al.  Predictors of first lifetime episodes of major depression in midlife women , 2008, Psychological Medicine.

[22]  M. Sammel,et al.  Associations of hormones and menopausal status with depressed mood in women with no history of depression. , 2006, Archives of general psychiatry.

[23]  J. Flaws,et al.  Correlates of depressive symptoms among women undergoing the menopausal transition. , 2007, Journal of psychosomatic research.

[24]  S. Assmann,et al.  Persistent mood symptoms in a multiethnic community cohort of pre- and perimenopausal women. , 2003, American journal of epidemiology.

[25]  J. Flaws,et al.  Current alcohol use is associated with a reduced risk of hot flashes in midlife women. , 2005, Alcohol and alcoholism.

[26]  H. Nelson,et al.  Influence of menopause on mood: a systematic review of cohort studies , 2007, Climacteric : the journal of the International Menopause Society.

[27]  H. Nelson,et al.  Management of menopause-related symptoms. , 2005, Evidence report/technology assessment.

[28]  N. Rasgon,et al.  Perimenopausal Mental Disorders: Epidemiology and Phenomenology , 2005, CNS Spectrums.

[29]  Terry Young,et al.  Menopausal status and sleep-disordered breathing in the Wisconsin Sleep Cohort Study. , 2003, American journal of respiratory and critical care medicine.

[30]  Alan D. Lopez,et al.  The global burden of disease: a comprehensive assessment of mortality and disability from diseases injuries and risk factors in 1990 and projected to 2020. , 1996 .

[31]  T. Roehrs,et al.  Sleep disturbance in menopause , 2007, Menopause.

[32]  J. Kloss,et al.  Psychological Factors Associated With Sleep Disturbance Among Perimenopausal Women , 2004, Behavioral sleep medicine.

[33]  S. Ozşener,et al.  The risk factors and symptomatology of perimenopausal depression. , 2006, Maturitas.

[34]  P. Schmidt.  Mood, depression, and reproductive hormones in the menopausal transition. , 2005, The American journal of medicine.

[35]  D. Percival,et al.  Symptoms during the menopausal transition and early postmenopause and their relation to endocrine levels over time: observations from the Seattle Midlife Women's Health Study. , 2007, Journal of women's health.