Memory after menopause: preliminary considerations of hormone influence on cognitive functioning

Oestrogen has been shown to have a wide variety of organisational and activating effects on brain structure and function. Despite the significant amount of research investigating the relation and effects of oestrogen to cognitive performance in menopausal women over the past two decades, studies have failed to produce consistent findings. This paper reports on evaluations of eighty-one community-based postmenopausal Australian women comparing current, past and never users of hormone therapy (HT) on a wide range of cognitive measures of general, verbal and visual memory, delayed recall, attention, concentration and verbal comprehension. Few significant differences were found among the three groups in the demographic profile, health status or psychological functioning. Although never users had significantly lower scores on verbal memory than past users, the differences were not statistically significant when adjustments were made controlling for age, education level, verbal comprehension, attention and concentration. These findings challenge long-held beliefs regarding the usefulness of oestrogen supplements as a protective factor against cognitive decline in older women's later years.