Hormone therapy for reproductive depression in women

Abstract

An email survey of patients attending a PMS and Menopause Centre produced 238 patients whose principal presenting symptom was depression. Seventy-seven percent claimed to have had severe or moderate depression, 17% had had at least one psychotic episode and 14% had attempted suicide. Fifty-eight percent had seen a psychiatrist. Seventy-one percent had received antidepressants and 17% had received mood stabilising drugs. Twelve percent had been admitted to a psychiatric hospital and 3.8% had received electroconvulsive therapy. Sixty-eight percent had premenstrual syndrome as a teenager and 145 women (89%) out of 165 women who had been pregnant had no depression during pregnancy but 110 (66%) developed postnatal depression. Ninety-seven women (58%) who had been pregnant had suffered both premenstrual depression and postnatal depression. All were treated with transdermal estrogens and 93% also had transdermal testosterone. One hundred and seventy-one patients had a uterus and received cyclical progestogen to protect the endometrium and 63% of these developed the premenstrual syndrome-type symptoms of progesterone intolerance during the progestogen days. Thirty-five percent of patients claimed to be cured and 55% had a considerable improvement with estrogen therapy. Only 3.7% reported that there was no improvement. For 94%, the hormone therapy was a life-changing event for the better. None were worse. Forty patients had hysterectomy and bilateral oophorectomy for progesterone intolerance or heavy uterine bleeding and 38 replied that it was life changing for the better with less or no depression. It is concluded that premenstrual and postnatal depressions appear in the same vulnerable women. These women are typically well during pregnancy and are a sub group of reproductive depression which also develops climacteric depression in the transition phase. These types of depression are the product of hormonal changes and respond well to transdermal hormone therapy.