Why the Perimenopause Years Carry a Higher Risk of Depression
Perimenopausal women were around 40 percent more likely to experience depression than premenopausal women.
Midlife, Emotional Health, Women's Health, Depression
Researchers at University College London pooled seven prospective studies covering more than 9,000 women to examine how the risk of depression shifts across the stages of menopause. Women in perimenopause, the transitional years when hormones begin to fluctuate, were about 40 percent more likely to have depressive symptoms or a diagnosis than premenopausal women, while the postmenopausal years showed no such rise. This points to perimenopause as a distinct window of vulnerability within the wider transition. The studies varied in how they defined menopausal stages and measured depression, and the analysis used unadjusted figures, so the exact size of the effect should be read with some caution. For a woman navigating shifting mood, sleep and focus in her forties while her diary stays full, it names a real and time-limited window that deserves support and screening.
