A new study has identified a significant reduction in grey matter volume in the brains of post-menopausal women, potentially explaining why they face a substantially higher risk of dementia later in life compared to men.
Published in Psychological Medicine, the research analysed data from 124,780 women to investigate how menopause affects brain structure and cognition, and whether hormone replacement therapy (HRT) can help mitigate these changes.
Participants were divided into three groups: pre-menopausal women, post-menopausal women who had never used HRT, and post-menopausal women who were current or past HRT users.
Researchers gathered information through questionnaires on sleep, mood, and fatigue, alongside cognitive tests measuring memory and reaction speed.Read Original/Read Complete.