How self-reported hot flashes may relate to affect, cognitive performance and sleep

A Cross-Sectional Comparison of Arterial Stiffness and Cognitive Performances in Physically Active Late Pre- and Early Post-Menopausal Females

Menopause accelerates increases in arterial stiffness and decreases cognitive performances. The objective of this study was to compare cognitive performances in physically active pre- and post-menopausal females and their relationship with arterial stiffness. We performed a cross-sectional comparison of blood pressure, carotid−femoral pulse wave velocity (cf-PWV) and cognitive performances between physically active late pre- and early post-menopausal females. Systolic (post-menopause—pre-menopause: +6 mmHg [95% CI −1; +13], p = 0.27; ŋ2 = 0.04) and diastolic (+6 mmHg [95% CI +2; +11], p = 0.06; ŋ2 = 0.12) blood pressures, and cf-PWV (+0.29 m/s [95% CI −1.03; 1.62], p = 0.48; ŋ2 = 0.02) did not differ between groups. Post-menopausal females performed as well as pre-menopausal females on tests evaluating executive functions, episodic memory and processing speed. Group differences were observed on the computerized working memory task. Post-menopausal females had lower accuracy (p = 0.02; ŋ2 = 0.25) but similar reaction time (p = 0.70; ŋ2 < 0.01). Moreover, this performance was inversely associated with the severity of menopausal symptoms (r = −0.38; p = 0.05). These results suggest that arterial stiffness and performance on tests assessing episodic memory and processing speed and executive functions assessing inhibition and switching abilities did not differ between physically active pre- and post-menopausal females. However, post-menopausal females had lower performance on a challenging condition of a working memory task, and this difference in working memory between groups cannot be explained by increased arterial stiffness.

Correlation between menopausal symptoms and everyday cognition in Chinese (peri)menopausal women

OBJECTIVE

The aim of this study was to evaluate the relationship between the severity of menopausal symptoms and everyday cognitive decline in Chinese peri and postmenopausal women.

METHODS

The peri and postmenopausal Chinese Han female who first visited the menopausal clinic of Shanghai Jiao Tong University Affiliated Sixth People's Hospital was selected as the study participants. The general questionnaire was used to obtain the sociodemographic characteristics of the study participants. The menopausal rating scale (MRS) was used to assess the severity of menopausal symptoms. The short version of the Everyday Cognition (ECog-12) scales was used to assess everyday cognitive performance.

RESULTS

A total of 295 women were included, with an average age of 51.12 ± 5.15 years. The average ECog scores were 1.51 ± 0.49 and the average MRS scores were 6.89 ± 4.77. In multiple linear regression analysis, after adjusting for confounding factors age, body mass index (BMI), monthly income, occupational status, education level, menopausal status, parity, regular exercise, and history of chronic diseases, complaints of anxiety and physical/mental fatigue were positively correlated with everyday cognitive decline.

CONCLUSIONS

Menopausal anxiety and physical/mental fatigue were the independent predictors of everyday cognition.

Blood pressure and neuropsychological test performance in healthy postmenopausal women

PURPOSE

To study the association between blood pressure and neuropsychological test performance in healthy postmenopausal women.

METHODS

Data from 88 healthy postmenopausal women aged 46-73 years, who were not experiencing hot flashes, and who had participated in a prior drug trial, were analyzed to find whether baseline blood pressure was associated with impaired performance on neuropsychological testing done at 3 follow-up visits separated by 4 weeks. Factor analysis was used to reduce the dimensions of neuropsychological test performance. Mixed linear modeling was used to evaluate the association between baseline blood pressure and repeatedly measured neuropsychological test performance at follow-up in a complete case analysis (n=53). In a sensitivity analysis (n=88), multiple-imputation using the Markov Chain Monte Carlo method was used to account for missing data (blood pressure results) for some visits.

RESULTS

The variables recording neuropsychological test performance were reduced to two main factors (Factor 1=selective attention; Factor 2=complex processing). In the complete case analysis, the association between a 20-mmHg increase in diastolic blood pressure and Factor 1 remained statistically significant after adjusting for potential confounders, before adjusting for systolic blood pressure (slope=0.60; 95%CI=0.04,1.16), and after adjusting for systolic blood pressure (slope=0.76; 95%CI=0.06, 1.47). The positive slopes indicated an increase in the time spent performing a given task (i.e., a decrease in neuropsychological test performance). No other significant associations were found between systolic blood pressure and either factor. The results did not materially change after applying the multiple-imputation method.

CONCLUSIONS

An increase in diastolic blood pressure was associated with a decrease in neuropsychological test performance among older healthy postmenopausal women experiencing hot flashes.