Depression and the menopause

Depression becomes less common after the menopause, according to an American study of 203 women who were premenopausal at baseline (mean age 42.8 years) and reached their natural menopause at, on average, 51.1 years. Depression was 51 per cent more common in the two years immediately after the menopause. However, the proportion of women with high scores on the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale (CESDS) decreased by about 15% a year from 10 years before to eight years after the final period.