Archive for the ‘Menopause’ Category
Depression during menopause
Experiencing a long perimenopausal period (of at least 27 months) has been associated with an increased risk of depression. This increased prevalence of depression in these extended periods of perimenopause seems to be transient. When depression is triggered at menopause, the reasons precipitating and varying severity of your symptoms do not appear to deviate from the patterns that characterize other forms of depression. There is thus some clinical peculiarity that distinguishes it from other life stages.
In fact, depression during menopause is not specifically associated with hormonal changes of menopause physiological but to other factors: surgical menopause, prior depression (the most predictive variable), health status, menstrual problems, social or family stress negative attitudes toward menopause. Among them has been that surgical menopause has been associated with higher rates of depression. It is unclear if only due to sudden hormonal deficit, the psychosocial situation or condition that prompted the intervention.
Some studies have shown that family and social tensions and the associated negative thought, seem more involved in the etiology of depressive disorders concomitant with menopause-hormonal biological change. Much has been written about the syndrome of “empty nest” and “housewife”, suggesting a higher rate of depression among housewives who have been exclusively dedicated to caring for children and who feel the loss of the maternal role coinciding with the age of menopause, in which the children become independent.
What is menopause?
The menstrual function has been the source of many interpretations, myths and fears over the story. For a long period of time of menopause was interpreted as the accumulation of dangerous health, determinants of mood swings or even madness.
In this context, the menopausal woman was considered as being decreased, a situation was happening socially irrelevant when it met its mission to perpetuate the species. Even today this vision endures pejorative when it is a negative view of a woman, saying that “it’s menopause.” Western culture promotes the myth that menopausal women suffer changes in personality, prone to depression and decreased sexual interest, which in turn reinforces the negative consideration that women have their own process of menopause .
Although it has been confirmed that during the postmenopausal period interest and sexual activity tends to decline as a result of the effects of decreased estrogen, such as vaginal dryness and increased vaginal infections, has also been found that in many cases not only there is a decrease in libido, but may even experience an intensification of women to feel free from the fear of unwanted pregnancy and the care for young children.
Estrogen plays an important role in the life of a woman
Sex hormones include, but are not limited to estrogen, testosterone, progestrone and DHEA.
Estrogen, a hormone that is no, but a group of similar hormones of varying degrees of activity, is secreted by the ovaries during the reproductive years of women.
Estrogen is the female hormone that is responsible for ovulation. Estrogen plays an important role in the life of a woman from the time they begin puberty to the last menstrual period.
Not only estrogens have beneficial effects on cholesterol, lowering cholesterol and blood lipid levels but also contributes to the production of proteins, to bone strength and the wife of a mental wellness.
Estrogen also supports and maintains secondary sexual characteristics such as the distribution of fat in the breasts, hips and buttocks (which is what produces such wonderful woman curves). It also influences the tone of voice and the distribution of body hair.
Progesterone, sex hormone in women’s second largest, is the other primary hormone produced by the ovaries each month during the second half of the cycle. Read the rest of this entry »
You have fewer morning erections
If you are male, 40 years, you have fewer morning erections, you have the desire and decreased sexual vigor you feel depressed and fatigued, you may suffer menopause. A disorder that affects all women, but they are not exempt from suffering, but in a much smaller percentage. 2% of men suffering from andropause, according to published BBC.
A group of researchers identified the symptoms associated with the “male menopause,” which appears after a low testosterone in men of middle and advanced age.
This disorder, also known as hypogonadism late start on the 40 and older, but only affects about 2% of men, according to a study by the University of Manchester in the UK.
The symptoms are clear: fewer morning erections, low sexual desire, erectile dysfunction, inability to perform strenuous activities, depression and fatigue, experts say that not only is testosterone deficiency, and that other factors involved. Read the rest of this entry »
Male Menopause Symptoms
Is the male menopause is a myth or a reality? Apparently a reality, but that affects a small percentage of the male population, only 2% according to a study conducted by the University of Manchester, and published a few days ago in the New England Journal of Medicine.
The study was carried out in various European countries, including Spain, with the collaboration of a total of 3369 men aged 40 to 79 years. We examined their levels of testosterone and were surveyed on sexual health, physical and psychological.
The results are interesting because they finally establish a set of parameters to diagnose symptoms or andropause, while it is found that is not common in the vast majority of men, and that testosterone treatment is only useful in a number few cases where it detects a deficiency of male sex hormones. Read the rest of this entry »
Menopause and Its Symptoms
Menopause is a normal change in a woman’s life when their menstrual periods cease. That’s why some people refer to menopause as “the change of life.” During menopause, a woman’s body slowly begins to produce less of the hormones estrogen and progesterone. This is often between 45 and 55 years of age.
It is believed that a woman has entered menopause when she has not had a period for 12 consecutive months, and there are other causes for this change. When approaching menopause may have symptoms of the changes for your agency is happening.
Many women wonder if these changes are normal, and many are confused about how to treat its symptoms. You may feel better if you learn all you can about menopause, and if you see your doctor about your health and your symptoms. If you want to treat your symptoms, he or she can teach you more about your options and can help you make the best decisions about their treatment.
What are the symptoms of menopause?
Menstrual periods cease all women entering menopause. Some women may have no other symptoms. However, when approaching menopause, you may have:
* Changes in your period – can vary the frequency of periods, and the flow from month to month.
Menopause and sleep apnea
Sleep, a basic physiological need of all humans, is a restorative process. However, many studies report that 33-51% of women have sleep disorders when they enter menopause.
Menopause is the cessation of function of the menstrual cycle, which occurs at an average age of 45-50 years.
Obstructive sleep apnea is a condition characterized by repetitive collapse of the upper airway during sleep that affects approximately 4% of males and 2% of adult women in the general population.
This high prevalence of abnormal breathing during sleep is of great significance from the standpoint of public health because it can be the cause of cerebrovascusculares and cardiovascular complications such as stroke, heart failure, heart attacks, arrhythmias and hypertension.
In addition, sleep apnea is also associated with decreased attention during the day, is a risk factor for hypertension and is closely associated with obesity and aging.
Menopause is associated with insomnia due to various circumstances such as hot flashes, changes in mood and changes in breathing during sleep.