• Education
    • Higher Education
    • Scholarships & Grants
    • Online Learning
    • School Reforms
    • Research & Innovation
  • Lifestyle
    • Travel
    • Food & Drink
    • Fashion & Beauty
    • Home & Living
    • Relationships & Family
  • Technology & Startups
    • Software & Apps
    • Startup Success Stories
    • Startups & Innovations
    • Tech Regulations
    • Venture Capital
    • Artificial Intelligence
    • Cybersecurity
    • Emerging Technologies
    • Gadgets & Devices
    • Industry Analysis
  • About us
  • Contact
  • Advertise with Us
  • Privacy & Policy
Today Headline
  • Home
  • World News
    • Us & Canada
    • Europe
    • Asia
    • Africa
    • Middle East
  • Politics
    • Elections
    • Political Parties
    • Government Policies
    • International Relations
    • Legislative News
  • Business & Finance
    • Market Trends
    • Stock Market
    • Entrepreneurship
    • Corporate News
    • Economic Policies
  • Science & Environment
    • Space Exploration
    • Climate Change
    • Wildlife & Conservation
    • Environmental Policies
    • Medical Research
  • Health
    • Public Health
    • Mental Health
    • Medical Breakthroughs
    • Fitness & Nutrition
    • Pandemic Updates
  • Sports
    • Football
    • Basketball
    • Tennis
    • Olympics
    • Motorsport
  • Entertainment
    • Movies
    • Music
    • TV & Streaming
    • Celebrity News
    • Awards & Festivals
  • Crime & Justice
    • Court Cases
    • Cybercrime
    • Policing
    • Criminal Investigations
    • Legal Reforms
No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • World News
    • Us & Canada
    • Europe
    • Asia
    • Africa
    • Middle East
  • Politics
    • Elections
    • Political Parties
    • Government Policies
    • International Relations
    • Legislative News
  • Business & Finance
    • Market Trends
    • Stock Market
    • Entrepreneurship
    • Corporate News
    • Economic Policies
  • Science & Environment
    • Space Exploration
    • Climate Change
    • Wildlife & Conservation
    • Environmental Policies
    • Medical Research
  • Health
    • Public Health
    • Mental Health
    • Medical Breakthroughs
    • Fitness & Nutrition
    • Pandemic Updates
  • Sports
    • Football
    • Basketball
    • Tennis
    • Olympics
    • Motorsport
  • Entertainment
    • Movies
    • Music
    • TV & Streaming
    • Celebrity News
    • Awards & Festivals
  • Crime & Justice
    • Court Cases
    • Cybercrime
    • Policing
    • Criminal Investigations
    • Legal Reforms
No Result
View All Result
Today Headline
No Result
View All Result
Home Science & Environment

Menopause Symptoms May Be Early Warning Sign of Dementia, Study Shows : ScienceAlert todayheadline

May 10, 2025
in Science & Environment
Reading Time: 6 mins read
A A
0
How Your Menopause Symptoms Could Be Early Warning Signs of Dementia
1
SHARES
3
VIEWS
Share on FacebookShare on Twitter


Hot flashes, night sweats, vaginal dryness, urinary tract infections, irregular periods, low libido, trouble sleeping, brain fog, mood swings — and in rare cases, even a burning tongue sensation. What might all these symptoms have in common? They can all be signs of menopause.


But could these symptoms hint at a greater story? New research suggests that menopause symptoms are not just immediate hurdles to overcome; they might also hold clues about a person’s future health, including their risk for conditions like dementia. However, to understand this connection, we must first understand what menopause is and how it affects the brain and body.

(Alexander Ryabintsev/Getty Images)

What is menopause?


Menopause marks the natural end of a woman’s menstrual periods, typically occurring in their late 40s or early 50s. Officially, menopause describes the specific day when someone has gone a full year without a period.


However, menopause doesn’t happen overnight. It often starts years earlier with a phase called perimenopause. During this time, the body prepares for menopause, and hormone levels — especially estrogen — fluctuate. This transition can last several years, often bringing symptoms like irregular periods, hot flashes, mood swings and more.


Once periods stop completely, a woman enters postmenopause. Unfortunately, symptoms don’t always end here; some may persist for years, and new symptoms may appear.


These stages — perimenopause, menopause and postmenopause — are all part of the same journey, though each person’s experience is unique.


An all too similar patient’s journey

While menopause is a natural process, its symptoms can feel anything but. Some people may experience mild or no symptoms, while others struggle with numerous and severe symptoms that disrupt daily life.


Symptoms like anxiety can make socializing difficult, sleep problems can lead to exhaustion and brain fog can make even simple tasks feel daunting. Together, these challenges can affect thoughts, feelings and social lives — key aspects to overall health.


Why menopause matters beyond the present


Understanding menopause and its symptoms is just the beginning. Beyond being a transitional phase, the challenges of menopause may offer a unique window into future brain health.


Take Alzheimer’s disease, the most common cause of dementia, marked by progressive memory loss, emotional and personality changes, and eventually, a loss of independence. Women are twice as likely as men to develop Alzheimer’s disease. In the past, research thought this difference was because women live longer than men, but new research suggests that menopause-related hormone changes may also play a critical role.


The role of hormones in brain health

During menopause, the ovaries stop producing eggs, triggering significant hormonal changes. One major change is the drop in estrogen, a hormone not only essential for reproduction, but also brain health.


Estrogen helps protect memory, strengthen neural connections, regulate mood and remove harmful proteins from the brain. When estrogen levels fall, these health benefits may weaken, possibly leaving the brain and body more vulnerable to harmful changes.


During these hormonal changes, menopause symptoms may also emerge. While symptoms were once thought to be temporary, albeit uncomfortable, side-effects of menopause, these symptoms may also signal underlying brain changes linked to dementia risk.


Future cognitive and behavioural health

While past research has examined how individual menopausal symptoms may relate to dementia risk, our research team (led by Dr. Zahinoor Ismail, a physician-scientist) asked: could the number of symptoms experienced also indicate early warning signs of dementia?


We explored this by analyzing changes in:

  1. Cognition (for example, memory, thinking, and problem-solving) and
  2. Behaviour (for example, emotions, personality, and social interactions).

While cognitive changes are often top of mind when thinking about dementia, behavioural changes are equally important but frequently overlooked, and might also be early warning signs.


We examined data from 896 postmenopausal participants in the CAN-PROTECT study, an online Canadian project on aging and brain health. Participants recalled the type and number of symptoms they experienced during perimenopause and completed tests assessing their current cognition and behaviour.


Among the participants, 74.3 per cent experienced perimenopausal symptoms — an average four symptoms per person — with hot flashes (88 per cent) and night sweats (70 per cent) being most common.


Our findings revealed that experiencing more symptoms during perimenopause was associated with greater cognitive and behavioural changes later in life, suggesting the burden of perimenopausal symptoms not only affected immediate well-being, but could also signal long-term brain health risks.


While the underlying mechanisms remain unclear, these findings highlight the importance of recognizing menopausal symptoms as potential early indicators of future brain health.


Interestingly, participants who used estrogen-based hormone therapies for perimenopausal symptoms showed fewer behavioural changes than non-users, suggesting a possible role for estrogen in dementia risk reduction. However, further research is critical to clarify the timing and long-term effects of hormone therapy.


It’s important to understand that these findings show a relationship between symptom burden and later brain health, but do not prove that one causes the other. We still need more research to understand why a connection exists and how it works.


Why this research matters

Our research highlights a crucial link: experiencing multiple perimenopausal symptoms may be related to cognitive and behavioural changes, which are early risk markers of dementia. Recognizing these symptoms as potential warning signs could help health care providers identify risks sooner and explore ways to protect brain health over time.

Menopause is more than a life transition; it may offer critical insights into long-term brain health. Supporting research like CAN-PROTECT, which is still recruiting participants, can help us uncover how menopause experiences shape dementia risk, paving the way for earlier interventions and better outcomes.The Conversation

Jasper Crockford, Medical Science Master’s Student, University of Calgary; Maryam Ghahremani, Research Data Scientist at Hotchkiss Brain Institute, University of Calgary, and Zahinoor Ismail, Professor, Cumming School of Medicine, University of Calgary

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.

Previous Post

Columbia suspends over 65 students following pro-Palestinian protest in library

Next Post

Pakistan says it has launched military offensive against India todayheadline

Related Posts

steroid tablets

Real-world evidence links long-term use of oral and inhaled steroids to adrenal insufficiency

May 10, 2025
3

Journalists Zero In on Potential Medicaid Cuts and Social Security Hiccups

May 10, 2025
6
Next Post
Pakistan says it has launched military offensive against India

Pakistan says it has launched military offensive against India todayheadline

  • Trending
  • Comments
  • Latest
Family calls for change after B.C. nurse dies by suicide after attacks on the job

Family calls for change after B.C. nurse dies by suicide after attacks on the job

April 2, 2025
Pioneering 3D printing project shares successes

Product reduces TPH levels to non-hazardous status

November 27, 2024

Hospital Mergers Fail to Deliver Better Care or Lower Costs, Study Finds todayheadline

December 31, 2024

Police ID man who died after Corso Italia fight

December 23, 2024
Harris tells supporters 'never give up' and urges peaceful transfer of power

Harris tells supporters ‘never give up’ and urges peaceful transfer of power

0
Des Moines Man Accused Of Shooting Ex-Girlfriend's Mother

Des Moines Man Accused Of Shooting Ex-Girlfriend’s Mother

0

Trump ‘looks forward’ to White House meeting with Biden

0
Catholic voters were critical to Donald Trump’s blowout victory: ‘Harris snubbed us’

Catholic voters were critical to Donald Trump’s blowout victory: ‘Harris snubbed us’

0
steroid tablets

Real-world evidence links long-term use of oral and inhaled steroids to adrenal insufficiency

May 10, 2025
Kay Josephine Medin was also known as Kay Adams.

Forensic testing links skull remains to missing Northern California woman

May 10, 2025

Trump’s administration fills with Fox News personalities

May 10, 2025
Jack Ma’s Alibaba visit and replica flat spark nostalgia over company’s humble start

Jack Ma’s Alibaba visit and replica flat spark nostalgia over company’s humble start

May 10, 2025

Recent News

steroid tablets

Real-world evidence links long-term use of oral and inhaled steroids to adrenal insufficiency

May 10, 2025
3
Kay Josephine Medin was also known as Kay Adams.

Forensic testing links skull remains to missing Northern California woman

May 10, 2025
1

Trump’s administration fills with Fox News personalities

May 10, 2025
5
Jack Ma’s Alibaba visit and replica flat spark nostalgia over company’s humble start

Jack Ma’s Alibaba visit and replica flat spark nostalgia over company’s humble start

May 10, 2025
3

TodayHeadline is a dynamic news website dedicated to delivering up-to-date and comprehensive news coverage from around the globe.

Follow Us

Browse by Category

  • Africa
  • Asia
  • Basketball
  • Business & Finance
  • Climate Change
  • Crime & Justice
  • Economic Policies
  • Elections
  • Entertainment
  • Entrepreneurship
  • Environmental Policies
  • Europe
  • Football
  • Gadgets & Devices
  • Health
  • Medical Research
  • Mental Health
  • Middle East
  • Motorsport
  • Olympics
  • Politics
  • Public Health
  • Relationships & Family
  • Science & Environment
  • Software & Apps
  • Space Exploration
  • Sports
  • Stock Market
  • Technology & Startups
  • Tennis
  • Travel
  • Uncategorized
  • Us & Canada
  • Wildlife & Conservation
  • World News

Recent News

steroid tablets

Real-world evidence links long-term use of oral and inhaled steroids to adrenal insufficiency

May 10, 2025
Kay Josephine Medin was also known as Kay Adams.

Forensic testing links skull remains to missing Northern California woman

May 10, 2025
  • Education
  • Lifestyle
  • Technology & Startups
  • About us
  • Contact
  • Advertise with Us
  • Privacy & Policy

© 2024 Todayheadline.co

Welcome Back!

OR

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password?

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In
No Result
View All Result
  • Business & Finance
  • Corporate News
  • Economic Policies
  • Entrepreneurship
  • Market Trends
  • Crime & Justice
  • Court Cases
  • Criminal Investigations
  • Cybercrime
  • Legal Reforms
  • Policing
  • Education
  • Higher Education
  • Online Learning
  • Entertainment
  • Awards & Festivals
  • Celebrity News
  • Movies
  • Music
  • Health
  • Fitness & Nutrition
  • Medical Breakthroughs
  • Mental Health
  • Pandemic Updates
  • Lifestyle
  • Fashion & Beauty
  • Food & Drink
  • Home & Living
  • Politics
  • Elections
  • Government Policies
  • International Relations
  • Legislative News
  • Political Parties
  • Africa
  • Asia
  • Europe
  • Middle East
  • Artificial Intelligence
  • Cybersecurity
  • Emerging Technologies
  • Gadgets & Devices
  • Industry Analysis
  • Basketball
  • Football
  • Motorsport
  • Olympics
  • Climate Change
  • Environmental Policies
  • Medical Research
  • Science & Environment
  • Space Exploration
  • Wildlife & Conservation
  • Sports
  • Tennis
  • Technology & Startups
  • Software & Apps
  • Startup Success Stories
  • Startups & Innovations
  • Tech Regulations
  • Venture Capital
  • Uncategorized
  • World News
  • Us & Canada
  • Public Health
  • Relationships & Family
  • Travel
  • Research & Innovation
  • Scholarships & Grants
  • School Reforms
  • Stock Market
  • TV & Streaming
  • Advertise with Us
  • Privacy & Policy
  • About us
  • Contact

© 2024 Todayheadline.co