"Is it menopause or bipolar?": a qualitative study of the experience of menopause for women with bipolar disorder. BMC Womens Health. 2017; 17: 110.
Tania Perich, Jane Ussher, Chloe Parton
BACKGROUND: Menopause can be a time of change for women and may be marked by disturbances in mood. For women living with a mental illness, such as bipolar disorder, little is known about how they experience mood changes during menopause. This study aimed to explore how women with bipolar disorder constructed mood changes during menopause and how this impacted on treatment decisions.
METHODS:Semi-structured interviews were undertaken with fifteen women who reported they had been diagnosed with bipolar disorder. Data was analysed using thematic analysis guided by a social constructionist framework.
RESULTS:Themes identified included 'Constructions of mood change: menopause or bipolar disorder?',' Life events, bipolar disorder and menopause coming together'; 'Treatment choices for mood change during menopause'.
CONCLUSIONS:The accounts suggested that women related to the experience of mood changes during menopause through the lens of their existing framework of bipolar disorder, with implications for understanding of self and treatment choices.
Read the full article for free here:
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5689207/
Tania Perich, Jane Ussher, Chloe Parton
BACKGROUND: Menopause can be a time of change for women and may be marked by disturbances in mood. For women living with a mental illness, such as bipolar disorder, little is known about how they experience mood changes during menopause. This study aimed to explore how women with bipolar disorder constructed mood changes during menopause and how this impacted on treatment decisions.
METHODS:Semi-structured interviews were undertaken with fifteen women who reported they had been diagnosed with bipolar disorder. Data was analysed using thematic analysis guided by a social constructionist framework.
RESULTS:Themes identified included 'Constructions of mood change: menopause or bipolar disorder?',' Life events, bipolar disorder and menopause coming together'; 'Treatment choices for mood change during menopause'.
CONCLUSIONS:The accounts suggested that women related to the experience of mood changes during menopause through the lens of their existing framework of bipolar disorder, with implications for understanding of self and treatment choices.
Read the full article for free here:
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5689207/
Menopause and illness course in bipolar disorder: A systematic review
Bipolar Disord. 2017 Sep;19(6):434-443. doi: 10.1111/bdi.12530.
Tania Perich, Jane Ussher, Tanya Meade
Abstract
Objectives: Menopause may be a time of increased mood symptoms for some women. This systematic review aimed to examine the severity of symptoms and prevalence of mood changes in women with bipolar disorder during peri-menopause and post-menopause.
Methods: A systematic review was undertaken in accordance with Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses guidelines. The two primary outcomes assessed were relapse rates and symptom severity during menopause. Databases searched were MEDLINE, EMBASE, PsychInfo, CINAHL and SCOPUS from January 1980 until December 2016.
Results: Nine studies, including a total of 273 participants diagnosed with bipolar disorder and who reported menopause, were included in the narrative synthesis. Menopause was reported to be associated with increased symptoms overall, and with depression in particular (range of 46%-91%). The collection of self-reported retrospective data was the most commonly used method to record menopause status.
Conclusions: The impact of menopause on illness course for women with bipolar disorder is largely under-explored. Preliminary evidence suggests that it may be associated with increased bipolar symptoms. Further work is needed to explore how menopause may interact with bipolar disorder over time and the nature of these symptom changes, and if and how menopause may differ from other reproductive stages.
Link here to see the full article: onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/bdi.12530/full