3 The Menopause Transition in Women with Traumatic Brain Injury

Objective: All premenopausal women who survive traumatic brain injury (TBI) will eventually experience menopause. Challenges experienced by women with TBI are superimposed on challenges associated with hormonal changes in midlife. Some women with stressful life contexts such as TBI are more vulnerab...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of the International Neuropsychological Society 2023-11, Vol.29 (s1), p.99-100
Main Authors: Rapport, Lisa J., Kalpakjian, Claire Z., Hanks, Robin A, Quint, Elisabeth H.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Acquired Brain Injury (TBI/Cerebrovascular Injury & Disease - Adult)
Anxiety
Breast
Cognitive ability
Complications
Estrogens
Fatigue
Hormones
Hot flash
Memory
Menopause
Menstruation
Middle age
Neurological diseases
Post-menopause
Poster Session 01: Medical | Neurological Disorders | Neuropsychiatry | Psychopharmacology
Quality of life
Sleep
Traumatic brain injury
Womens health
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Summary:Objective: All premenopausal women who survive traumatic brain injury (TBI) will eventually experience menopause. Challenges experienced by women with TBI are superimposed on challenges associated with hormonal changes in midlife. Some women with stressful life contexts such as TBI are more vulnerable to the added burdens of the menopause transition, potentiating its effects. Although it may be argued that TBI research correctly overrepresents the male experience given disparities in injury rates (4:1), there are important differences in how females and males age, their specific health needs, and the psychosocial context of midlife. Development of evidence-based interventions begins with understanding the experience of menopause after TBI, including where and when key problems may emerge. Participants and Methods: All participants were women 40-60 years old, not taking hormones (i.e., replacement therapy or other systematic hormones), with intact ovaries. Women with TBI were > 2 years post injury, whose menstrual period returned after injury, and were living in the community. Severity of injury ranged from complicated-mild to severe TBI. Pre/peri and postmenopausal status was determined by presence/absence of menstrual period in previous 6 months, respectively. Eighteen common menopause symptoms (vasomotor, somatic, psychological, and cognitive) were assessed for presence and frequency (rarely-always), along with Quality of Life in Neurological Disorders (Neuro-QOL) Sleep Disturbance and Traumatic Brain Injury Quality of Life (TBIQOL) Anxiety, Depression, and Fatigue scales. Results: Overall, women with TBI (n = 68) showed greater presence and frequency of symptoms than women without TBI (n = 153), with fewer within-group differences by menopausal status. Among pre/peri-menopausal women, TBI and non-TBI groups did not significantly differ and showed small effect sizes on symptoms associated with changes in estrogen during menopause, including hot flashes, night sweats, bowel and bladder sequelae, and breast tenderness. However, pre/peri-menopausal women with TBI also endorsed body aches and headaches, as well as troubles with memory, focus, fatigue, cognitive concerns, sleep, and anxiety significantly more than their pre/peri-menopausal counterparts (all medium effect sizes). Among postmenopausal women, those with TBI had significantly greater frequency of hot flashes, crying spells, poor memory, worry, moodiness, panic attacks, sleep disturbance, and anxi
ISSN:1355-6177
1469-7661
DOI:10.1017/S135561772300190X