Study finds women have more brain changes after menopause

A new study published in the June 29, 2022, online issue of the American Academy of Neurology shows that women who have gone through menopause may have more of a brain biomarker called white matter hyperintensities.

With age or with high blood pressure, white matter hyperintensities are more common on brain scans. These brain markers have been linked to an increased risk of dementia.

While having white matter hyperintensities does not mean that a person will develop dementia or have a stroke, larger amounts may increase a person's risk. The study looked at how menopause may affect the amount of brain biomarkers. White matter hyperintensities evolve differently for men and women, where menopause or factors that determine when menopause starts, such as variations in the aging process, are defining factors

3,410 people were involved in the study. Half of those were women and the other half were post menopause. Half of the participants had high blood pressure and a third had high blood pressure.

Participants had brain scans. The amount of white matter hyperintensities for each person was calculated by researchers. The average volume for these brain markers was less than a liter. The average brain volume for men and women was 1,180 and 1,053 liters, respectively. The average white matter volume was 490 for men and 430 for women.

When researchers adjusted for age and other risk factors, they found that post menopausal women had more of the brain biomarkers than men of the same age. In people 45 and older, the average total white matter hyperintensities volume was less than that of men. The researchers found that the increase in brain biomarkers was more rapid in women than in men.

Men and women of the same age did not have a difference in the amount of white matter Hyperintensities.

Researchers found that post menopausal women had more white matter hyperintensities than pre menopausal women. In a group of participants ages 45 to 59, postmenopausal women had an average total volume of white matter hyperintensities of less than one millionth of a millimeter.

Hormonal therapy after menopause may not have a protective effect on the brain, according to a new study.

Women with high blood pressure have higher levels of this brain biomarker than men.

High blood pressure can cause an increase in white matter hyperintensities in the brain. More research is needed to investigate how menopause may be related to the brain's health. The need to account for different health trajectory for men and women is demonstrated. The importance of sex-specific medicine and more attentive therapy for older women is highlighted in our research.

The study didn't know the exact age of menopause onset or if some participants were perimenopausal.

DZNE funded the study.

There is a story

The materials come from the American Academy of Neurology. The content can be edited for style and length.