Objective:To examine the efficacy of short-term use of transdermal 17 β-Estradiol for the treatment of depression in peri- and postmenopausal women.
Methods: Twenty women (9 perimenopausal, 11 postmenopausal) who met criteria for depressive disorders (mean MADRS scores 21.38 ± 4.66) received four weeks of treatment with 100μg of 17 β-E2 adhesives. Depressive and somatic symptoms were assessed at baseline and at week 4 using the MADRS and Greene Climacteric Scale (GCS), respectively.
Results: All women concluded treatment. Perimenopausal and postmenopausal women were similar in age, marital status, education, and severity of depression. Six perimenopausal women (66.7%) and one postmenopausal woman (9.1%) had full remission of depression (mean MADRS scores <9; p = 0.017, Fisher’s exact test). Except for menopausal status, remission of depression with E2 was not associated with any variables studied, including severity of depression and somatic symptoms at baseline (all p-values ≧ 0.05). Also, there was no significant correlation between changes in depressive and somatic symptoms (MADRS and GCS scores; r = 0.17, p = 0.453).
Conclusions: Depression in perimenopausal women may be rapidly and significantly alleviated with short-term use of E2. Postmenopausal women, however, may not benefit from a brief hormone intervention. This response does not seem to be associated with distinct improvement on vasomotor symptoms. Putative explanations for this differential response deserve further investigation.
This study was supported by Forest Laboratories, USA.