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.
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
Topics
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