Affective symptoms in women attending a menopause clinic.
All new attenders at the Menopause Clinic in Edinburgh over six months were interviewed to detect current depressive disorder (MADRS) and past psychiatric disorders (SADS-L), to find out whether women who were depressed at the time of clinic attendance had a history of depression. Of the 95 subjects who entered the study, 78 had gone through a natural menopause and 17 had undergone hysterectomy with or without oophorectomy. Of the 78 who had experienced a natural menopause, 35 were found to be depressed at the time of clinic attendance and 43 were not. A strong association was found between current and past depressive illness, 29 of the patients depressed at the time of clinic attendance having had depression previously. However, a clear peak of illness was seen in the perimenopausal period (four years either side of the last menstrual period): 35% of all patients with past or current depressive illness experienced their first episode of illness in this period.
University Department of Psychiatry, Royal Edinburgh Hospital.
A G
AG
Hay
J
J
Bancroft
E C
EC
Johnstone
D000328:Adult; D002979:Climacteric / Q000523:psychology*; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D003866:Depressive Disorder / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000523:psychology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D015994:Incidence; D008593:Menopause / Q000523:psychology*; D008594:Menopause, Premature / Q000523:psychology; D008875:Middle Aged; D010348:Patient Care Team; D010555:Personality Inventory; D012008:Recurrence; D012606:Scotland / Q000453:epidemiology