Review
Copyright ©The Author(s) 2021. Published by Baishideng Publishing Group Inc. All rights reserved.
World J Psychiatr. Aug 19, 2021; 11(8): 412-428
Published online Aug 19, 2021. doi: 10.5498/wjp.v11.i8.412
Menopause and cognitive impairment: A narrative review of current knowledge
Délio Marques Conde, Roberto Carmignani Verdade, Ana L R Valadares, Lucas F B Mella, Adriana Orcesi Pedro, Lucia Costa-Paiva
Délio Marques Conde, Department of Gynecology and Obstetrics, Federal University of Goiás, Goiânia 74605-050, Goiás, Brazil
Roberto Carmignani Verdade, Ana L R Valadares, Adriana Orcesi Pedro, Lucia Costa-Paiva, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, School of Medical Sciences, State University of Campinas, Campinas 13083-881, São Paulo, Brazil
Lucas F B Mella, Department of Medical Psychology and Psychiatry-Geriatric Psychiatry and Neuropsychiatric Division, State University of Campinas, Campinas 13083-887, São Paulo, Brazil
Author contributions: The authors declare equal contributions to this manuscript.
Supported by National Council for Scientific and Technological Development of Brazil (CNPq), No. 312400/2018-7.
Conflict-of-interest statement: The authors declare no conflicts of interest related to this article.
Open-Access: This article is an open-access article that was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: http://creativecommons.org/Licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Corresponding author: Lucia Costa-Paiva, MD, PhD, Full Professor, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, School of Medical Sciences, State University of Campinas, Rua Alexander Fleming, 101, Cidade Universitária Zeferino Vaz, Barão Geraldo, Campinas 13083-881, São Paulo, Brazil. paivaepaiva@uol.com.br
Received: February 15, 2021
Peer-review started: February 15, 2021
First decision: June 24, 2021
Revised: July 5, 2021
Accepted: July 28, 2021
Article in press: July 28, 2021
Published online: August 19, 2021
Core Tip

Core Tip: Cognitive complaints are more common in postmenopausal women than in premenopausal women. Due to the reduction in ovarian function, a progressive decrease in serum estrogen levels occurs, leading to menopausal symptoms with an emphasis on vasomotor symptoms. In addition to these symptoms, cognitive impairment can affect postmenopausal women to varying degrees. Several aspects of the relationship between menopause and cognitive function were reviewed. We report the latest evidence on the topic. In this sense, considering current knowledge, we do not recommend the prescription of hormone therapy to prevent cognitive decline or dementia in postmenopausal women.