Depression in midlife women attending a menopause clinic is associated with a history of childhood maltreatment

Abstract

A growing body of literature has suggested that the perimenopause and the early postmenopausal years are associated with an increased risk of experiencing symptoms of depression and the development of first-onset and recurrent episodes of major depressive disorder. Multiple risk factors have been identified, including stressful life events and lower socioeconomic status, as well as early life adversity. The objective of the current study was to characterize the influence of early life childhood maltreatment and incident depression among women experiencing bothersome menopausal symptoms. Participants were recruited from two university-affiliated specialty clinics caring for women with bothersome menopausal symptoms. Assessments included the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire (CTQ), the Center for Epidemiological Studies – Depression (CES-D) scale and the Greene Climacteric Scale. Findings from this cross-sectional study indicate that adverse childhood experiences, as measured using the CTQ, were highly prevalent among women seeking care for bothersome menopausal symptoms (66%). Further, a greater score on the CTQ was significantly associated with higher CES-D scores, as well as with a greater burden of menopausal symptoms, after adjusting for confounding. Our findings lend support to the growing body of literature suggesting that early life stress affects mental health well into adulthood.

更年期门诊就诊的中年女性抑郁与儿童期虐待史有关 摘要

越来越多的文献表明, 围绝经期和绝经后早期与经历抑郁症状的风险增加以及重度抑郁症的首发和反复发作有关。已经确定了多种风险因素, 包括压力性生活事件和较低的社会经济地位, 以及早年生活中的逆境。本研究的目的是描述在经历烦人的更年期症状的女性中, 儿童期虐待对发生抑郁症的影响。参与者是从两个大学附属的专科诊所招募的, 这些诊所诊疗有更年期症状的女性。评估包括儿童创伤问卷（CTQ）、流行病学研究中心抑郁症量表（CES-D）和格林更年期量表。这项横断面研究的结果表明, 采用CTQ评估的不良童年经历在寻求治疗令人烦恼的更年期症状的女性中非常普遍（66%）。此外, 更高的CTQ得分与更高的CES-D得分显著相关, 在调整混杂因素后, 与更年期症状的更大负担也显著相关。我们的发现为越来越多的文献提供了支持, 这些文献表明早年生活压力会影响成年后的心理健康。

Keywords:

• Depression
• menopause
• child maltreatment
• adversity
• abuse
• neglect

Potential conflict of interest

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Source of funding

Nil.