Cognition Declines After the Menopause Transition

A new study seeks to identify whether mitochondrial function might be a determinant of cognition during early postmenopause.

Women often report about being more forgetful during the transition from premenopause to perimenopause to postmenopause. Such downswings in memory after menopause appear// independent of chronologic age.

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‘The study reveals the indications of compensatory bioenergetic shifts that might yield less-efficient energy production but might be important to sustaining cognition as women age. These findings as a whole underscore the importance of bioenergetic processes to women's cognitive health during the postmenopause.’

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Study results will be presented during the 2020 Virtual Annual Meeting of The North American Menopause Society (NAMS).

Mitochondria are responsible for creating more than 90% of the energy needed by the human body to support life and sustain organ function.

Prior smaller-scale studies have analyzed singular mitochondrial biomarkers to be possibly associated with cognitive function. These studies were based on the idea that a reduction in estrogen changes the efficiency of energy production across the menopause transition, and inefficient energy production may be related to reduction in cognition.

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In this latest study, researchers determined the association between a more extensive array of mitochondrial biomarkers and cognitive test performance in a larger sample of postmenopausal women.

They assessed the relationship of mitochondrial functional markers to cognition while taking into account other factors that can influence cognition, including age, education, race, and body mass index.

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Perimenopause is a transition phase that lasts until menopause. The low estrogen levels during this phase cause irregular periods and early menopause symptoms such as hot flashes. This phase may last from a few months to years.

Considering the samples of 110 study participants, researchers concluded that, in postmenopausal women, markers of mitochondrial function were linked to cognitive performance on measures of verbal learning, verbal memory, organizational strategies that support verbal learning and memory, verbal fluency, and spatial ability.

Efficient mitochondrial function was most consistently associated with the use of executive, prefrontal-dependent strategies.

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Menopause is defined as the state of permanent cessation of menstrual cycles (periods) for 12-months.

"Through this research, we confirmed that women with more efficient energy production had better cognitive performance on a range of cognitive indices, including verbal learning," says Rachel Schroeder from the University of Illinois at Chicago, lead author of the study "Bioenergetic Markers and Cognition in Peri- and Postmenopausal Women."

"Although additional research is warranted, this study provides valuable insights into a possible role of changes in mitochondrial function in reduced cognitive performance across the menopause transition," says Dr. Stephanie Faubion, NAMS medical director.

Further studies are essential to determine whether these changes in midlife predict future cognitive decline and whether there are actions that can be taken to prevent them, according to the authors.

Source-Medindia