A study has explored the effect of various menopause symptoms, such as hot flashes, on memory, attention, language, and executive function.

With more than 24m people globally living with dementia without a cure in sight, there has been a lot of focus on ways to prevent and delay cognitive impairment. A study has suggested that severe menopause symptoms such as hot flashes and depression can negatively affect cognitive function in postmenopausal women. The study results have been published online in Menopause, the journal of The Menopause Society.

In conjunction with the ageing population, dementia diagnoses are on the rise. It is estimated that 4.6m cases are diagnosed every year, which translates into one person being diagnosed with dementia every seven seconds. This means dementia cases are expected to double every 20 years, reaching 81.1m by 2040.

Medical experts have estimated that 40 per cent of cases of Alzheimer's disease, the most common form of dementia, can be prevented or, at minimum, delayed. As a result, there is a lot of interest in identifying risk factors.

Research has focused on the importance of estradiol in female cognitive ageing. The menopause transition is characterised by a decline in estrogen, so post-menopausal women are at an increased risk of dementia.

The study involving nearly 1,300 late-postmenopausal women from nine Latin American countries has suggested that severe menopause symptoms such as hot flashes, sleep, and mood disturbances were linked with cognitive impairment. Whether effectively treating hot flashes with hormone therapy or other approved therapies can help improve cognition in the form of memory, attention, language, and executive function, is unknown.

Based on these results, the researchers concluded that there is an intricate interplay between hormonal, lifestyle, and sociodemographic factors involved with cognitive health.

Stephanie Faubion, medical director for The Menopause Society, said, “This study showed a potential link between severe menopause symptoms and cognitive impairment in midlife women.

“The results also suggest a protective effect of lower body mass index, higher educational level, physical exercise, hormone therapy use, and sexual activity on cognition, highlighting the potential for targeted interventions to protect and preserve cognitive function in menopausal women”.

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