Depression after menopause and the use of menopausal hormone therapy

Perimenopause is a window of vulnerability for the development of mood disorders which involve both depressive symptoms or even episodes of depression. The experience of an episode of depression during perimenopause usually is a recurrence of prior depression rather than a new-onset depressive disorder [ [1] Maki P.M. Kornstein S.G. Joffe H. Bromberger J.T. Freeman E.W. Athappilly G. Bobo W.V. Rubin L.H. Koleva H.K. Cohen L.S. Soares C.N. Guidelines for the evaluation and treatment of perimenopausal depression: summary and recommendations. Menopause. 2018; 25: 1069-1085 Crossref PubMed Scopus (85) Google Scholar ]. The risk for depression decreases within two to four years after the last menstrual period, especially for women with no previous history of depression. During perimenopause, the use of menopausal hormone therapy (MHT) may improve depressive symptoms [ 1 Maki P.M. Kornstein S.G. Joffe H. Bromberger J.T. Freeman E.W. Athappilly G. Bobo W.V. Rubin L.H. Koleva H.K. Cohen L.S. Soares C.N. Guidelines for the evaluation and treatment of perimenopausal depression: summary and recommendations. Menopause. 2018; 25: 1069-1085 Crossref PubMed Scopus (85) Google Scholar , 2 Stute P. Spyropoulou A. Karageorgiou V. Cano A. Bitzer J. Ceausu I. Chedraui P. Durmusoglu F. Erkkola R. Goulis D.G. Hirschberg A.Lindén Kiesel L. Lopes P. Pines A. Rees M. van Trotsenburg M. Zervas I. Lambrinoudaki I. Management of depressive symptoms in peri- and postmenopausal women: EMAS position statement. Maturitas. 2020; 131: 91-101 Abstract Full Text Full Text PDF PubMed Scopus (25) Google Scholar ].