Persistent mood symptoms in a multiethnic community cohort of pre- and perimenopausal women

To further our understanding of the relation between mood and menopause, the authors examined 1) the association between persistent mood symptoms and menopausal status and 2) factors that increase a woman's vulnerability to an overall dysphoric mood during the early perimenopausal period. The sample consisted of an ethnically diverse community cohort of 3,302 pre- and early perimenopausal women aged 42-52 years who were participants in the Study of Women's Health Across the Nation, an ongoing US multisite longitudinal study of menopause and aging. At study entry (1995-1997), women reported information on recent menstrual regularity and premenstrual symptoms, as well as on sociodemographic, symptom, health, sleep, psychosocial, and lifestyle variables. Rates of persistent mood symptoms were higher among early perimenopausal women (14.9%-18.4%) than among premenopausal women (8%-12%). In analyses adjusting for major covariates and confounders, early perimenopausal women had higher odds of irritability, nervousness, and frequent mood changes but not of feeling "blue." The effect of being early perimenopausal on overall dysphoric mood was greatest among women with an educational level of less than high school graduation. These findings suggest that persistent mood symptoms and overall dysphoric mood are associated with the early perimenopause, particularly among women with lower educational attainment.