PREVALENCE OF PSYCHOLOGICAL DISTRESS AMONG POSTMENOPAUSAL WOMEN ATTENDING A MENOPAUSAL CLINIC AND THE EFFECT OF HORMONE REPLACEMENT THERAPY ON THEIR MENTAL STATE

Forty-eight women in natural or surgical menopause, who attended a menopausal-gynecological clinic, were examined before starting any treatment by a psychiatrist using the General Health Questionnaire-28 and the Hamilton scales for anxiety and depression, to measure the degree of their psychological distress. This degree was relatively high, especially for women in surgical menopause. After 6 months, in which 36 of the attendees received hormone replacement therapy, the psychiatric assessment was repeated and much lower levels of distress were found, so that in no case was psychiatric treatment needed. This improvement in psychological state could perhaps partly be attributed to the attention of the special setting, but is probably a result of the hormone replacement therapy.