Reproductive aging and executive functions in healthy women

Area of Science:

• Neuroscience
• Gerontology
• Women's Health

Background:

• Reproductive aging is associated with hormonal changes that may affect cognitive function.
• Executive functions are crucial for daily activities and are known to decline with age.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the influence of reproductive aging on various executive functions in healthy women.
• To identify potential differences in cognitive performance across premenopausal, perimenopausal, and postmenopausal stages.

Main Methods:

• Assessed executive functions including working memory, verbal fluency, inhibitory control, planning, and cognitive flexibility.
• Compared cognitive performance in three groups of healthy women: premenopausal (n=45), perimenopausal (n=31), and postmenopausal (n=24).
• Conducted secondary analyses considering occupational intellectual demands.

Main Results:

• No significant differences in overall executive functions were found between the menopausal groups.
• Perimenopausal and postmenopausal women with lower intellectual demand occupations performed worse in semantic verbal fluency compared to premenopausal women.
• Cognitive reserve appears to be a significant factor influencing executive function changes.

Conclusions:

• Reproductive aging may subtly affect specific executive functions, like semantic verbal fluency, particularly in women with lower cognitive reserve.
• Occupational intellectual demands and cognitive reserve may modulate the cognitive effects of reproductive aging.
• Further research is needed to fully elucidate the relationship between reproductive aging, cognitive reserve, and executive functions.