Survey study, 2006
Does estrogen replacement improve thinking abilities after menopause?
Women after menopause who used estrogen replacement significantly outperformed women who did not on a test of complex thinking, even after accounting for age and education. This small study (48 women) with a single snapshot in time suggests benefits, but findings should be tested in larger studies.
What they did
Researchers studied 48 women in 4 groups: young without menopause, middle-aged without menopause, after menopause not using hormones, and after menopause using hormone replacement. All women answered health questionnaires and completed 10 tests of thinking ability.
What they found
Women after menopause on hormone replacement performed significantly better than women after menopause not using hormones on a test of complex thinking. This difference was still present after accounting for age, vocabulary level, and education.
What it means for you
Estrogen replacement therapy might help with certain thinking skills after menopause. However, the study was small and only looked at women at one point in time. We don't know if benefits last long-term or if they apply to all types of thinking.
48
women in the study
4
groups compared
10
tests of thinking ability
About the study
- Original title
- The relationship between menopausal status, phase of menstrual cycle, and replacement estrogen on cognition in healthy women without dementia
- Authors
- Lokken KL, Ferraro FR
- Journal
- The Journal of psychology
- Year
- 2006
- Study design
- Survey study
- Participants
- 48
- What was tested
- Estrogen replacement therapy in postmenopausal women
- Read the paper
- doi.org/10.3200/jrlp.140.6.533-547
Topics
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