Researchers have found that women are more than twice as likely to experience mania and major depressive disorders around the time of their final period.
This study, the first to explore the connection between psychiatric disorders and perimenopause—the phase when women experience menopause symptoms like anxiety, mood swings, and brain fog while still having periods—reveals significant findings.
The research team from Cardiff University discovered that the incidence of major depressive disorder increased by 30 per cent during the four years leading up to a woman's final period. Mania cases surged by 112 per cent in the four years following a woman’s final period, compared to the six to ten years before perimenopause began.
In collaboration with Bipolar UK, the study analysed data from nearly 130,000 women in the UK Biobank, comparing the onset of disorders in the years following their final period to the years before perimenopause. Professor Arianna Di Florio from Cardiff University explained, “While approximately 80 per cent of women experience symptoms during perimenopause, the link to severe mental illness was not fully understood.”
She noted that her clinic had observed some women, who had previously lived without severe mental health issues, developing such conditions around menopause. “I felt a responsibility to provide answers and support to those affected,” she added.
