HRT ‘prevents depression’ in women during menopause
HORMONE replacement therapy treatments can prevent depression in menopausal women, a study has found.
US researchers found women given a placebo for a year were twice as likely to develop clinically significant depressive symptoms.
Previous studies have shown HRT can treat depression during the menopause but this is the first to suggest it can prevent its onset. The study looked at 172 women without depression before menopause or in early menopause over six years. The research was carried out by Harvard Medical School and Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston. Dr Martin Blomberg-Jensen, of Harvard University, said: “This shows transdermal hormonal therapy lowers the proportion of postmenopausal women with symptoms.”