Twice as many women as men suffer from depression and depression in women commonly occurs at times of hormonal change, including following pregnancy and during the menopause. Despite universal agreement amongst the medical profession that this higher prevalence of depression in women indicates a biological or hormonal component there has been a surprising lack of investigation into the use of trans-dermal oestrogen as a treatment for hormone responsive depression.
Senior Gynaecologist Professor John Studd says:
“The association between hormonal fluctuations and depression is frequently not recognised by a woman’s doctor. As a result antidepressants are often prescribed, which will not help with hormone-related depression, and this is a real tragedy.”
Professor Studd has no doubt that pre-menstrual depression; post-natal depression and peri-menopausal depression can all be easily treated by adjusting hormone levels.
The time of a woman’s life when her ovaries stop releasing an egg (ovum) on a monthly cycle, and her periods cease
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