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A study by the University of Oulu has found that women who entered menopause earlier than usual reported more symptoms of anxiety and depression than women of the same age who had not yet entered menopause. The work is published in the journal Acta Obstetricia et Gynecologica Scandinavica.

The menopausal transition refers to the stage when the menstrual cycle and hormonal function change, and symptoms associated with menopause, such as hot flashes and sleep disturbances, may occur. Menopause, meaning the final menstrual period, occurs later in this process. In Finnish women, the average age at menopause is around 51.

The study examined data from more than 2,600 women from the Northern Finland Birth Cohort 1966. The women were 46 years old at the time of the study.

The researchers divided the participants into two groups according to whether they had already entered the menopausal transition. The classification was based on hormone level measurements, information on menstrual cycles and medication purchases. The menopausal transition had already begun in 13% of the women studied.

Symptoms of anxiety were reported significantly more often by women who had entered the menopausal transition than by other women of the same age. Clinically significant anxiety symptoms were reported by approximately 23% of women who had entered the menopausal transition, compared with 16% of women in the comparison group.

The association remained after the analyses accounted for factors including smoking, alcohol consumption, body mass index and education.

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