Depression, hormone therapy, and the menopausal transition among women aged 45 to 64 years using Canadian Longitudinal Study on aging baseline data.

OBJECTIVE

To investigate the association between menopausal status, hormone therapy (HT) use and the presence of depressive symptoms among middle-aged women in Canada.

METHODS

Cross-sectional baseline data from 13,216 women aged 45 to 64 years from the Canadian Longitudinal Study on Aging (CLSA) was used. The association between menopausal status (pre- vs postmenopausal) and self-reported symptoms of depression based on a score of 10 or more on the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Short Depression Scale-10 was assessed using logistic regression. Use and duration of use of HT, time since menopause, age at onset of menopause, and socioeconomic status and other contextual variables were explored for the association with depression.

RESULTS

Overall, 18.4% of middle-aged women in the CLSA data were identified as depressed using the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Short Depression Scale-10. Based on the logistic regression models, women reporting premature menopause (before the age of 40 years) and postmenopausal women currently using HT had 1.45 (1.07-1.97) and 1.21 (1.02-1.44) greater odds of having depression. Chi-square analyses showed that women with depressive symptoms were more likely to have low education, low household incomes, live alone, be nulliparous, and have low social support.

CONCLUSIONS

Our findings highlight the association between depression and premature menopause among midlife women. Current HT use may be a proxy for more severe menopausal vasomotor symptoms, a known risk factor for depressive symptoms. Identification of risk factors, including social determinants of health, age at menopause, and menopausal symptoms can help guide clinicians when assessing mental health. : Video Summary:http://links.lww.com/MENO/A576.