--- title: Do irregular periods and menopause affect thinking and memory in women with schizophrenia? description: Yes. Women with schizophrenia who had irregular periods performed worse on tests of processing speed, word fluency, and word memory compared to women with reg url: https://niyora.com/research/papers/menstrual-cycle-irregularity-and-menopause-status-influence-cognition-in-women-2018/ --- - [Niyora](https://niyora.com/) - [Research](https://niyora.com/research/) - [Library](https://niyora.com/research/library/) - Do irregular periods and menopause affect thinking and memory in women with schizophrenia? Study, 2018 # Do irregular periods and menopause affect thinking and memory in women with schizophrenia? Yes. Women with schizophrenia who had irregular periods performed worse on tests of processing speed, word fluency, and word memory compared to women with regular periods. Women past menopause had worse performance on visual-spatial thinking. Moderate study design 240 women with schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorder ## What they did Researchers analyzed baseline data from 240 women with schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorder. All women took standardized tests of thinking and memory. Researchers measured hormone levels through blood tests and classified women into groups: regular cycles, irregular cycles, approaching menopause, or past menopause. ## What they found Women with irregular menstrual cycles scored significantly lower than women with regular cycles on tests of processing speed, word fluency, and word memory. Women approaching menopause showed no change in thinking performance compared to women with regular cycles. Women past menopause scored lower on visual-spatial thinking tasks. ## What it means for you In women with schizophrenia, irregular menstrual periods are linked to worse thinking and memory performance, suggesting reproductive hormones influence cognition. This might help doctors understand and treat cognitive problems in women with this condition. The limitation is that hormone levels and menstrual patterns were measured only once, and findings come only from women with schizophrenia. 240 women with schizophrenia 3 areas of worse performance with irregular cycles ## About the study Original title Menstrual cycle irregularity and menopause status influence cognition in women with schizophrenia Authors Gurvich C, Gavrilidis E, Worsley R et al. Journal Psychoneuroendocrinology Year 2018 Study design Study What was tested None; hormone measurement and cognitive testing Read the paper [doi.org/10.1016/j.psyneuen.2018.06.022](https://doi.org/10.1016/j.psyneuen.2018.06.022) ## Topics [Cognition, concentration and memory](https://niyora.com/research/topics/symptom-cognition/)[Schizophrenia and psychosis](https://niyora.com/research/topics/comorbidity-psychosis/)[Perimenopause and menopause](https://niyora.com/research/topics/comorbidity-perimenopause/)[Work and productivity](https://niyora.com/research/topics/life-area-work/)[Quality of life and daily functioning](https://niyora.com/research/topics/life-area-quality-of-life/) Research tells you what helps on average. Niyora helps on the day it hits. Calm down, see it another way, and decide what to say, with a PMS and PMDD app built by a doctor. ## Related studies Randomised trial, 2023 What does research show about PMDD neurochemistry? Systematic review, 2026 Can mindfulness, yoga or qigong help with PMS symptoms? Systematic review, 2026 Do digital tools and apps help reduce PMS and PMDD symptoms? Survey study, 2026 Are PMS and PMDD the same condition or are they different? Review, 2026 How does the menstrual cycle affect concentration and work productivity? Study, 2025 Do women have different symptom patterns before, during, and after menopause? Ask AI about this page Copy prompt ChatGPT ↗ Claude ↗ Perplexity ↗ Google AI Mode ↗ Grok ↗