title: Well-being and the menopausal transition.
abstract: This paper examines the relationship between well-being, age, menopausal status, hormone levels and hot flashes. Data from the first 4 years of longitudinal observation from the Melbourne Women's Midlife Health project was utilized. This study involved a population-based sample of 405 women interviewed annually. Blood was taken during the follicular phase (if still menstruating) for estradiol, sex hormone binding globulin, follicle stimulating hormone and testosterone. A validated well-being scale was used. Positive affect increased with age while negative affect decreased with age but only in the postmenopausal category. Positive affect was significantly lower in the 2 years postmenopausal group but this effect of menopausal status did not remain when hot flashes were included in the analysis. Negative affect was highest in the 1-2 years postmenopausal group. Although hot flashes adversely affected negative moods, a significant effect of menopausal status remained. No direct association between any of the hormone levels and positive or negative affect scores was evident. In conclusion, this study found that well-being was decreased in the first 2 years after the first menstrual period but began to improve spontaneously after this time.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, University of Melbourne, Carlton, Vic, Australia.
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Dennerstein
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Dudley
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Burger
mesh_terms: D000223:Adaptation, Psychological; D000339:Affect; D000367:Age Factors; D002979:Climacteric / Q000502:physiology / Q000523:psychology*; D005260:Female; D012739:Gonadal Steroid Hormones / Q000097:blood; D006801:Humans; D016014:Linear Models; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008875:Middle Aged; D014739:Victoria
chemical_list: D012739:Gonadal Steroid Hormones