ABSTRACT
The objective of this study is to compare differences in the cognitive functioning of elderly women who underwent unilateral oophorectomy before menopause with women who passed through natural menopause. A case-control study was conducted from December 2009 to August 2010. We studied the cognitive functioning of 50 elderly women who had undergone unilateral oophorectomy alone (20 cases) or with abdominal hysterectomy (30 cases) before menopause for a benign indication between May 1985 and December 1989. Tests of cognitive functioning were compared with results from 50 demographically matched control women. Test results for the unilateral oophorectomy group were lower than the control group, as measured on three separate trials for immediate and delayed word recall (p < .05). Hence we can conclude unilateral oophorectomy before menopause may have long-term deleterious effects on cognitive functioning in elderly women.
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