Previous pregnancies might mitigate cortical brain differences associated with surgical menopause.

ABSTRACT: Surgical menopause causes a sharp drop in estrogen levels in middle-aged women, thus preventing the gradual physiological adaptation that is characteristic of the perimenopause. Previous studies suggest that surgical menopause might increase the risk of dementia later in life. In addition, the transition to motherhood entails long-lasting endocrine and neuronal adaptations. We compared differences in whole-brain cortical volume between women who reached menopause by surgery and a group of women who reached spontaneous non-surgical menopause and determined whether these cortical differences were influenced by previous childbearing. Using surface-based neuroimaging techniques, we investigated cortical volume differences in 201 middle-aged women (134 women who experienced non-surgical menopau

SUBMITTER: Fernandez-Pena A 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10789212 | biostudies-literature | 2024 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature