Psychoemotional and autonomic disorders in pre-, peri- and postmenopausal women

Abstract

The topicality of issues of health maintenance and quality of life improvement in pre-, peri- and postmenopausal women is associated with the increasingly growing socio-public activity of women in today’s context. A number of studies have found a direct relationship between the onset of menopause and appearance of symptoms of autonomic dysfunction, shift of mood, various sleep disorders, decreased performance, including intellectual one, increased irritability and anxiety. The symptoms of autonomic dysfunction are the most difficult ones for a woman during this period. The most common symptoms of the period covering peri- and postmenopause are hot flashes, severe sweating, chills, heat palpitations in combination with increased anxiety. At the same time, hot flashes and other presentations of autonomic dysfunction do not always mean the onset of menopause and is not obstetrician-gynecologists’ responsibility alone. Therefore, complaints about hot flashes in pre-, peri- and postmenopausal women should not be the only course for the prescription of menopausal hormone therapy, but require a more detailed study of their cause. Previously it was shown that clinically significant components of the MPS symptom complex can be associated with other causes, both somatic and neuropsychiatric. Thus, the effects of psychosocial risk factors on perimenopausal women health include acute or chronic stress, chronic negative emotions, low social status, low or missing social support, general distress, loneliness, etc. These factors often cause the development of anxiety disorders, which are accompanied not only by psycho-emotional presentations, but also by autonomic symptoms. Therefore, the symptoms of autonomic dysfunction caused by anxiety disorders and menopausal syndrome largely overlap. This review presents the characteristics of vegetative and psycho-emotional disorders at each stage of female reproductive ageing. A tofisopam therapy option for vegetative and psychoemotional disorders in pre-, peri- and postmenopausal women is discussed.