OBJECTIVE: The authors examined the effect of a 4-week course of estrogen therapy on depression in perimenopausal and postmenopausal women. METHOD: Twenty-two depressed women who were either perimenopausal (N=10) or postmenopausal (N=12) received open-label treatment with transdermal 17beta-estradiol (100 micro g/day) for 4 weeks. The Montgomery-Asberg Depression Rating Scale and the Beck Depression Inventory were used to assess depressive symptoms, the Greene Climacteric Scale was used to assess menopause-related symptoms, and the Clinical Global Impression (CGI) was used to assess global clinical improvement in these women at baseline and after treatment. Remission of depression was defined as a score <10 on the Montgomery-Asberg Depression Rating Scale and a score </=2 on the CGI at week 4. RESULTS: Remission of depression was noted in eight of the 20 women who completed the study; two of these women were postmenopausal, and six were perimenopausal. Antidepressant response was not associated with severity or subtypes of depression at study entry or with concomitant improvement in menopause-related symptoms. CONCLUSIONS: Some perimenopausal women with depression may benefit from short-term use of estrogen therapy, and its role for postmenopausal depressed women warrants further investigation. Antidepressant benefit associated with estrogen therapy may be independent of improvement in physical symptoms.
OBJECTIVE: The authors examined the effect of a 4-week course of estrogen therapy on depression in perimenopausal and postmenopausal women. METHOD: Twenty-two depressed women who were either perimenopausal (N=10) or postmenopausal (N=12) received open-label treatment with transdermal 17beta-estradiol (100 micro g/day) for 4 weeks. The Montgomery-Asberg Depression Rating Scale and the Beck Depression Inventory were used to assess depressive symptoms, the Greene Climacteric Scale was used to assess menopause-related symptoms, and the Clinical Global Impression (CGI) was used to assess global clinical improvement in these women at baseline and after treatment. Remission of depression was defined as a score <10 on the Montgomery-Asberg Depression Rating Scale and a score </=2 on the CGI at week 4. RESULTS: Remission of depression was noted in eight of the 20 women who completed the study; two of these women were postmenopausal, and six were perimenopausal. Antidepressant response was not associated with severity or subtypes of depression at study entry or with concomitant improvement in menopause-related symptoms. CONCLUSIONS: Some perimenopausal women with depression may benefit from short-term use of estrogen therapy, and its role for postmenopausal depressed women warrants further investigation. Antidepressant benefit associated with estrogen therapy may be independent of improvement in physical symptoms.
Authors: Pauline M Maki; Ellen W Freeman; Gail A Greendale; Victor W Henderson; Paul A Newhouse; Peter J Schmidt; Nelda F Scott; Carol A Shively; Claudio N Soares Journal: Menopause Date: 2010-07 Impact factor: 2.953
Authors: Roger S McIntyre; Jakub Z Konarski; Sophie Grigoriadis; Nancy C Fan; Deborah A Mancini; Kari A Fulton; Donna E Stewart; Sidney H Kennedy Journal: CMAJ Date: 2005-01-04 Impact factor: 8.262
Authors: Jennifer L Gordon; Susan S Girdler; Samantha E Meltzer-Brody; Catherine S Stika; Rebecca C Thurston; Crystal T Clark; Beth A Prairie; Eydie Moses-Kolko; Hadine Joffe; Katherine L Wisner Journal: Am J Psychiatry Date: 2015-01-13 Impact factor: 18.112
Authors: Melinda L Morgan; Andrea J Rapkin; Giovanni Biggio; Mariangela Serra; Maria Giuseppina Pisu; Natalie Rasgon Journal: Arch Womens Ment Health Date: 2009-09-03 Impact factor: 3.633