Effects of estrogen therapy on well-being in postmenopausal women without vasomotor complaints

To establish whether estrogen treatment affects well-being in postmenopausal women without current or previous vasomotor symptoms.

Forty postmenopausal women, aged 45-59 years, without current or previous vasomotor complaints, were included. They were randomized to masked treatment with either transdermal 17beta-estradiol 50 microg/24 h or to placebo. At baseline and after 12 and 14 weeks of treatment, the women completed a questionnaire which reflects well-being, the Psychological General Well-Being (PGWB) Index.

The women scored high on the PGWB Index, both at baseline and after 12 and 14 weeks of treatment. There was no significant difference in well-being according to PGWB Index between the groups treated with estrogen and placebo, neither at baseline, nor after therapy. Furthermore, there was no difference in change during therapy between the treatment groups.

There is a gradual decline in estrogen during the climacteric, and it is controversial to which extent this affects women's mental health. The PGWB scores in this study were high before therapy, reflecting that these women without previous or current vasomotor complaints represented a selected sample. Neither short-term estrogen treatment over 12 weeks nor addition with medroxyprogesterone acetate during 2 weeks improved well-being in postmenopausal women without vasomotor symptoms who had high well-being at baseline.