Abstract
The menopause transition is a time when women experience an increased risk for new onset depression, as well as relapse of depression. While there are overlapping symptoms between major depression and depression during menopause, differences suggest ‘perimenopausal depression’ may be a unique subtype of depression associated with characteristic symptoms. There is currently no validated scale designed to measure perimenopausal depression. The aim of the current study was to develop and validate the ‘Meno-D’, a self-reporting or clinician rated questionnaire, designed to rate the severity of symptoms of perimenopausal depression. The development phase of the Meno-D involved literature review, clinical observation, and focus groups. A 12-item questionnaire was developed and clinically reviewed for face validity for content. The Meno-D was administered to women experiencing symptoms of perimenopausal depression as part of a larger baseline assessment battery. Validation involved confirmatory factor analysis (CFA). The development of the Meno-D resulted in 12 items. A total of 93 participants with perimenopausal depression were involved in the baseline assessments, 82 completed the Meno-D. Factor analysis identified five sub-scales of the Meno-D “somatic; cognitive; self; sleep; sexual” with high-internal consistency; discriminant validity and a good construct and convergent validity. The Meno-D provides a unique tool for clinicians and researchers to measure the presence of perimenopausal depression.
Highlights
Women have approximately twice the risk of developing depression or anxiety disorders compared to men[1,2]
The menopause transition is a time when women are at an increased risk for new onset depression, as well as relapse for women with a history of depression[3,4,5,6]
The perimenopausal period refers to the interval immediately preceding menopause, when women transition from a reproductive to a non-reproductive state, until menopause, when menses have ceased for a period of at least 12 months
Summary
Women have approximately twice the risk of developing depression or anxiety disorders compared to men[1,2]. While there are many overlapping symptoms between major depressive disorder and depression occurring during the menopause transition, there are key differences that indicate ‘perimenopausal depression’ may be a unique subtype of depression[3]. The diagnosis and quantification of perimenopausal depression requires a new rating scale to reflect the unique subset of symptoms. The perimenopausal period typically begins for women during their mid-to late 40s with a number of physical and mental health changes which continue for ~4–5 years before menopause is reached[7]. The STRAW recommends that the late reproductive stage is accompanied with subtle endocrine changes that transition into a perimenopausal period that
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