Subjective versus objective cognition during menopause: A systematic review and meta-analysis

Area of Science:

• Neuroscience
• Women's Health
• Psychology

Background:

• Menopause is associated with subjective cognitive changes, often termed 'brain fog'.
• Existing research lacks a comprehensive understanding of the relationship between perceived and actual cognitive function during this life stage.

Purpose of the Study:

• To systematically review measures of subjective cognition during menopause.
• To quantify the correlation between subjective and objective cognitive performance in perimenopausal and postmenopausal women.

Main Methods:

• A systematic review and meta-analysis of studies reporting both subjective and objective cognitive measures in menopausal women.
• Searches conducted in EMBASE, Medline, and PsycINFO databases.
• Risk of bias assessed using a modified QUADAS-2 tool; meta-analysis employed multilevel modeling.

Main Results:

• Data from 24 studies involving 5629 participants were analyzed.
• A small, significant positive correlation was found between subjective cognition and objective learning efficiency (r = .12).
• No significant correlations were observed for other cognitive domains.

Conclusions:

• Subjective cognitive experiences during menopause may correlate with objective learning efficiency.
• Highlights the need for validated measures of menopausal subjective cognitive symptoms.
• Emphasizes the necessity of characterizing the neuropsychological profile of menopausal brain fog for improved clinical support.