Virtual Grand Rounds: Understanding Mental Health Issues Connected to Menopause and the Perimenopausal Period
Presented by:
Hadine Joffe, MD, MSc
Interim Chair, Department of Psychiatry
Executive Director, Mary Horrigan Connors Center for Women’s Health, and Gender Biology,
Brigham and Women’s Hospital
Paula A. Johnson Professor of Psychiatry in the Field of Women’s Health, Harvard Medical School
Disturbance of mood is common in midlife women across the menopause transition. While major depression is less prevalent, subsyndromal depressive symptoms affect a large proportion of women in the perimenopause and early post menopause. Women with a history of depression are especially susceptible to endocrine changes across reproductive transitions that underlie the subsyndromal depressive symptom presentation during this universal reproductive transition. Women with a history of depression are also at risk for recurrence of depression episodes in midlife. However, not all affective symptoms occurring during the menopause transition are attributable to menopause—its underlying hormonal changes, core brain symptoms of hot flashes and sleep disturbance, or the life experience of this transition. Given the 4-year median duration of the perimenopause, it is common that life events and stressors that women endure may independently confer vulnerability to mood disruption.
Mental illness is the leading burden of illness in women, who are increasingly aware of the imperative for good mental health and wellbeing. Poor mental health in midlife erodes wellbeing at a time when women are at their most productive in the workplace, shoulder family responsibilities, and are adapting to changes in their physical health. Many women recognize the mind-body connection and seek to understand how changes in their body and in their environment might influence their mood state; they seek strategies to counter these pressures and bring balance to their lives. The intersections between midlife, the menopause transition, and mood are complex to disentangle. Strategies to protect mental health and improve any emergent depression symptoms and treat major depression episodes require a clear diagnostic characterization of and an understanding of the causal attribution of the mood disturbance in order to select the most specific treatment approach(es). This talk will delineate the conditions of major depression and subsyndromal depressive symptoms occurring in midlife women, their common co-occurring symptoms, contributing risk factors, and point to optimal hormonal, psychotropic, and behavioral treatment strategies.
Educational Objectives
As a result of participating in this activity, learners should be able to:
- Describe prevalence and course of major depression and subthreshold depressive symptoms across menopause transition
- Identify common precipitating and co-occurring factors, focusing on hormonal / menopause-related contributing factors
- Review treatment options for major depression and subthreshold depressive symptoms
After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the Zoom webinar.
Accreditation Statement: Silver Hill Hospital is accredited by the Massachusetts Medical Society to provide continuing medical education for physicians.
Designation Statement: Silver Hill Hospital designates this live activity for a maximum of 1.0 AMA PRA Category 1 Credits™. Physicians should only claim credit commensurate with the extent of their participation in the activity.
NASW/Connecticut Statement: This program has been approved for 1.0 Continuing Education Credit Hours by the National Association of Social Workers, CT and meets the continuing education criteria for CT Social Work Licensure renewal. Approval also meets the continuing education criteria for CT LMFTs, LPCs, and licensed psychologists.
New York Social Worker Statement: Silver Hill Hospital is recognized by the New York State Education Department’s State Board for Social Work as an approved provider of continuing education for licensed social workers #SW-0728. This program is approved for 1.0 contact hour.
New York Psychologist Statement: Silver Hill Hospital is recognized by the New York State Education Department’s State Board for Psychology as an approved provider of continuing education for licensed psychologists #PSY-0227. This program is approved for 1.0 contact hour.
Speaker Disclosure: Dr. Joffe receives grants from NIH (NIA, NIMH, ORWH), Merck, and Pfizer. Dr. Joffe is a consultant to Bayer, Merck, and Hello Therapeutics. All relevant financial relationships have been mitigated.
None of the planners for this educational activity have relevant financial relationships to disclose with ineligible companies whose primary business is producing, marketing, selling, re-selling, or distributing healthcare products used by or on patients.