The menopause DOES make you more forgetful: Increasing evidence women's concentration can drop by as much as 40% as they go through change

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-2463775/The-menopause-DOES-make-forgetful-Increasing-evidence-womens-concentration-drop-40-change.html
By SOPHIE BORLAND

Women going through the menopause often complain they are becoming more forgetful.

And an international conference heard yesterday there is increasing evidence that women’s concentration levels, memory and ability to carry out tasks drop by as much as 40 per cent when they go through the change.

As many as four in ten women could be affected, and many find it increasingly difficult to do their jobs or go about daily routines.

Researchers also say that younger women may find it harder to concentrate at certain times of the month due to changes in their hormones.

Studies have shown that they perform better in certain tests when levels of the hormone oestrogen are highest – just before ovulation.

Professor Martha Hickey, an expert in obstetrics and gynaecology at  Melbourne University, said there was now compelling evidence that the menopause affected women’s memory, attention span and ability to learn.

She told the American Society for Reproductive Medicine in Boston there was a number of possible causes, including a drop in levels of the hormone oestrogen and a lack of sleep.

‘Clearly, losing your memory or  feeling your concentration is failing is distressing and for many women it may affect their productivity and ability to get on with their lives,’ she added. 

‘Cognitive (concentration) complaints are common in the menopause.’

Professor Hickey said the drop in  levels of the hormone oestrogen that occur during the menopause may affect key parts of the brain responsible for memory and concentration including the hippocampus, the middle, and the prefrontal cortex, which is at the front.

Scans on women going through the menopause have shown possible changes in both areas.

But a lack of sleep may play a part, she added, as a result of constantly waking up in the night with hot flushes.

Professor Hickey also said that much of the previous research had under-estimated the effects of the menopause as they relied on tests that were not sensitive enough to detect small changes in the brain.

Many relied on techniques used to diagnose strokes or dementia which do not pick up the comparably mild loss of concentration experienced by women. 

She is now carrying out her own study on 105 women in the US undergoing surgery to remove their ovaries to prevent ovarian cancer which will result in them going through the menopause.

She referred to a study carried out on 12,450 women in the US in 2001 which found they were 40 per cent more likely to report being more forgetful after the menopause. Separate research on 16,000 women, also undertaken in America, showed that four in ten admitted having memory problems.

The average age for women to go through the menopause in Britain is 52 although some experience it in their 30s and 40s.

It occurs when the body stops producing oestrogen as women age and this causes her ovaries to stop producing eggs each month. This fall in oestrogen also causes mood swings, hot flushes and night sweats.

Earlier Dr Hadine Joffe, who specialises in psychiatry at Harvard University’s Medical School, advised menopausal women to cover up their clocks to help them sleep better.

She said that if they woke up with a hot flush and were unable to get back to sleep, they would find it even harder to nod off if they knew it was 3am.

Dr Joffe said around one in four women going through the menopause have some problems sleeping.