Losing your train of thought or searching for a familiar word can raise some serious concerns for women approaching menopause. Researchers at Toronto Metropolitan University are working on investigating how this transition affects memory and how these changes impact brain health later in life.
On this Menopause Day, Natasha Rajah, a professor of Psychology and Tier 1 Canada Research Chair in Sex, Gender and Diversity in Brain Health, Memory and Aging at TMU, is highlighting the research examining menopause and memory related issues showing signs of early dementia.
“Women account for two-thirds of Alzheimer disease cases in the world, and the first symptom of Alzheimer disease is memory decline,” Rajah tells OMNI News.
Rajah leads the Brain Health at Midlife and Menopause (BHAMM) study, part of TMU’s Brain Health Equity in Aging and Memory (BHEAM) lab. She says that her team uses MRI scans, blood samples and memory related tests to identify how menopause – the cessation of menstruation – and associated health factors relate to brain function.
“We want to see for some females how they experience menopause and it might be an early window of opportunity to identify females at higher risk of Alzheimer disease later in life,” said Rajah.
According to TMU, researchers found an association between poorer blood vessel health and memory in post menopausal women. However, these findings do not establish menopause as a cause leading to Alzheimer’s disease.
“Females at midlife seem to show an age related decline whereas males don’t and when we look at female population to understand why and when this decline occurs is really around peri and post menopause,” Rajah explains, citing the findings of the research.
Rajah added that clinical studies have historically failed to adequately account for biological differences in women and men. Her team is working to examine those differences. The research also aims to create a more inclusive understanding of brain aging across diverse communities.
“Very little is known about how menopause is experienced in different cultures,” said Rajah.
She pointed to the differences in average age of menopause in Western countries compared to India, as an example for the importance of broader representation.
“The average age of menopause in India is younger than in the west, so why is that?” she asks, noting it is important to study those factors and raise questions about whether the findings on menopause and cardiovascular health applies equally across cultures.
“When we say in the west that menopause is a risk factor for cardiovascular health, is it true for all communities and what is considered early in different communities?”
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