The younger a woman is when she has her ovaries removed during a hysterectomy or some other type of surgery, the higher her risk of declining memory and thinking skills, but this doesn’t happen when women reach menopause naturally. These findings, from the Rush Memory and Aging Project at Rush University Medical Center in Chicago, are scheduled to be presented in March 2013 at the annual meeting of the American Academy of Neurology. The study, which included 1,837 women between the ages of 53 and 100, also reported that the declines in memory and thinking seen after ovary removal were slower in women who had been receiving long term hormone replacement therapy. Compared to women who kept their ovaries, the study documented a faster decline in long-term memory related to concepts and ideas, in memory that relates to time and places and in overall thinking abilities. It also found a significant association between the age at which the ovaries are removed and the plaques linked to Alzheimer’s disease. The results remained the same when the researchers weighed other factors such as age, education and smoking history.
Sources:
American Academy of Neurology, “Early Surgical Menopause Linked to Declines in Memory and Thinking Skills,” press release, January 14, 2013. http://www.aan.com/press/index.cfm?fuseaction=release.view&release=1132
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