Menopause symptoms could affect brain health, study shows

With more than 24m people globally living with dementia without a cure in sight, there has been a lot of focus on ways to prevent and delay cognitive impairment. A study has suggested that severe menopause symptoms such as hot flashes and depression can negatively affect cognitive function in postmenopausal women. The study results have been published online in Menopause, the journal of The Menopause Society.

In conjunction with the ageing population, dementia diagnoses are on the rise. It is estimated that 4.6m cases are diagnosed every year, which translates into one person being diagnosed with dementia every seven seconds. This means dementia cases are expected to double every 20 years, reaching 81.1m by 2040.