Perimenopausal Women At Risk For Depression

Women who are nearing menopause are more likely to experience depression, according to a new study. Lee S. Cohen and other researchers at the Massachusetts General Hospital monitored about 460 Boston women aged 36 and 45 and found that those who suffered the most hormonal imbalances were prone to depression.

The study appears in the April issue of the journal Archives of General Psychiatry. The study found that these pre-menopausal women were prone to suffer from depression when they entered preimenopause during the course of the study. "The risk was greater in perimenopausal women who also had hot flashes, but it was still greatly elevated in those who did not have this and other common symptoms associated with transitioning to menopause," Cohen said. "There is a tendency to dismiss symptoms of depression as part and parcel of this transition, but they shouldn't be discounted."