7 Healthcast: Depression and Menopause

Depression is twice as common in women as men. It disrupts lives and now researchers at Brighwam and Women's hospital have found, it can also send women in their 30's and 40's into menopause.

Bernard Harlow, Brigham and Women's Researcher
"They were about 20 percent more likely to begin having symptoms of early menopause."

The worse the depression, the greater the risk. Women on medication for severe depression were three times more likely to exhibit early menopause.

Bone density loss, which I'm being tested for now, is one symptom of menopause. Other symptoms include changes in one's cycle, hot flashes and changes in a woman's hormones and of course, loss of fertility. Most women are not surprised depression can affect them so drastically.

"It just seems logical to me."

Bernard Harlow
"We know that in women, who suffer post-traumatic stress disorder, there's a dramatic effect on their hormones."

Depression affects 7 million American women, but it often goes undiagnosed. Only 60 percent of the women, who are clinically depressed, actually seek treatment.