Skip to main content
  • Submit
  • About
    • Editorial Board
    • PNAS Staff
    • FAQ
    • Rights and Permissions
    • Site Map
  • Contact
  • Journal Club
  • Subscribe
    • Subscription Rates
    • Subscriptions FAQ
    • Open Access
    • Recommend PNAS to Your Librarian
  • Log in
  • My Cart

Main menu

  • Home
  • Articles
    • Current
    • Latest Articles
    • Special Features
    • Colloquia
    • Collected Articles
    • PNAS Classics
    • Archive
  • Front Matter
  • News
    • For the Press
    • Highlights from Latest Articles
    • PNAS in the News
  • Podcasts
  • Authors
    • Information for Authors
    • Purpose and Scope
    • Editorial and Journal Policies
    • Submission Procedures
    • For Reviewers
    • Author FAQ
  • Submit
  • About
    • Editorial Board
    • PNAS Staff
    • FAQ
    • Rights and Permissions
    • Site Map
  • Contact
  • Journal Club
  • Subscribe
    • Subscription Rates
    • Subscriptions FAQ
    • Open Access
    • Recommend PNAS to Your Librarian

User menu

  • Log in
  • My Cart

Search

  • Advanced search
Home
Home

Advanced Search

  • Home
  • Articles
    • Current
    • Latest Articles
    • Special Features
    • Colloquia
    • Collected Articles
    • PNAS Classics
    • Archive
  • Front Matter
  • News
    • For the Press
    • Highlights from Latest Articles
    • PNAS in the News
  • Podcasts
  • Authors
    • Information for Authors
    • Purpose and Scope
    • Editorial and Journal Policies
    • Submission Procedures
    • For Reviewers
    • Author FAQ

New Research In

Physical Sciences

Featured Portals

  • Physics
  • Chemistry
  • Sustainability Science

Articles by Topic

  • Applied Mathematics
  • Applied Physical Sciences
  • Astronomy
  • Computer Sciences
  • Earth, Atmospheric, and Planetary Sciences
  • Engineering
  • Environmental Sciences
  • Mathematics
  • Statistics

Social Sciences

Featured Portals

  • Anthropology
  • Sustainability Science

Articles by Topic

  • Economic Sciences
  • Environmental Sciences
  • Political Sciences
  • Psychological and Cognitive Sciences
  • Social Sciences

Biological Sciences

Featured Portals

  • Sustainability Science

Articles by Topic

  • Agricultural Sciences
  • Anthropology
  • Applied Biological Sciences
  • Biochemistry
  • Biophysics and Computational Biology
  • Cell Biology
  • Developmental Biology
  • Ecology
  • Environmental Sciences
  • Evolution
  • Genetics
  • Immunology and Inflammation
  • Medical Sciences
  • Microbiology
  • Neuroscience
  • Pharmacology
  • Physiology
  • Plant Biology
  • Population Biology
  • Psychological and Cognitive Sciences
  • Sustainability Science
  • Systems Biology

Cognition, mood, and physiological concentrations of sex hormones in the early and late postmenopause

Victor W. Henderson, Jan A. St. John, Howard N. Hodis, Carol A. McCleary, Frank Z. Stanczyk, Roksana Karim, Donna Shoupe, Naoko Kono, Laurie Dustin, Hooman Allayee, and Wendy J. Mack
PNAS published ahead of print November 25, 2013 https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1312353110
Victor W. Henderson
Departments of aHealth Research and Policy (Epidemiology) andbNeurology and Neurological Sciences, Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94305;
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
  • For correspondence: vhenderson@stanford.edu
Jan A. St. John
cAtherosclerosis Research Unit andDepartments of dPreventive Medicine,
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
Howard N. Hodis
cAtherosclerosis Research Unit andDepartments of dPreventive Medicine,eMedicine,fDepartment of Molecular Pharmacology and Toxicology, School of Pharmacy, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA 90033
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
Carol A. McCleary
gNeurology,
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
Frank Z. Stanczyk
Departments of dPreventive Medicine,hObstetrics and Gynecology, and
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
Roksana Karim
Departments of dPreventive Medicine,iPediatrics, Keck School of Medicine, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA 90033; and
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
Donna Shoupe
hObstetrics and Gynecology, and
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
Naoko Kono
cAtherosclerosis Research Unit andDepartments of dPreventive Medicine,
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
Laurie Dustin
cAtherosclerosis Research Unit andDepartments of dPreventive Medicine,
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
Hooman Allayee
cAtherosclerosis Research Unit andDepartments of dPreventive Medicine,
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
Wendy J. Mack
cAtherosclerosis Research Unit andDepartments of dPreventive Medicine,
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
  1. Edited by Bruce S. McEwen, The Rockefeller University, New York, NY, and approved October 23, 2013 (received for review June 30, 2013)

  • Article
  • Figures & SI
  • Info & Metrics
  • PDF
Loading

Significance

Hormone variations after menopause may influence brain processes concerned with cognition and mood. Effects may differ for exposures near menopause compared with much later. We addressed this prediction using serum concentrations of endogenous estradiol, estrone, progesterone, and testosterone in 643 healthy women not using hormone therapy (early group, <6 y after menopause; late group, 10+ y). In combined analyses, hormone levels were unrelated to verbal memory, executive functions, global cognition, or mood. For serum estradiol (our primary focus), the relation did not differ between postmenopause groups. In early group women, progesterone levels were associated with better memory and global cognition; this finding merits additional study. Results help clarify cognitive effects of physiological concentrations of sex steroids after menopause.

Abstract

Variations in the hormonal milieu after menopause may influence neural processes concerned with cognition, cognitive aging, and mood, but findings are inconsistent. In particular, cognitive effects of estradiol may vary with time since menopause, but this prediction has not been assessed directly using serum hormone concentrations. We studied 643 healthy postmenopausal women not using hormone therapy who were recruited into early (<6 y after menopause) and late (10+ y after menopause) groups. Women were administered a comprehensive neuropsychological battery and assessed with the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale. They provided serum for free estradiol, estrone, progesterone, free testosterone, and sex hormone binding globulin measurements. Cognitive outcomes were standardized composite measures of verbal episodic memory, executive functions, and global cognition. Covariate-adjusted linear regression analyses were conducted for each hormone separately and after adjustment for other hormone levels. Endogenous sex steroid levels were unassociated with cognitive composites, but sex hormone binding globulin was positively associated with verbal memory. Results for early and late groups did not differ significantly, although progesterone concentrations were significantly positively associated with verbal memory and global cognition in early group women. Hormone concentrations were not significantly related to mood. Results fail to support the hypothesis that temporal proximity to menopause modifies the relation between endogenous serum levels of estradiol and verbal memory, executive functions, or global cognition. Physiological variations in endogenous postmenopausal levels of sex steroid hormones are not substantially related to these aspects of cognition or mood; positive associations for progesterone and sex hormone binding globulin merit additional study.

Footnotes

  • ↵1To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: vhenderson{at}stanford.edu.
  • Author contributions: V.W.H., H.N.H., and W.J.M. designed research; J.A.S.J., C.A.M., F.Z.S., R.K., D.S., and H.A. performed research; V.W.H., J.A.S.J., N.K., L.D., and W.J.M. analyzed data; and V.W.H., J.A.S.J., H.N.H., F.Z.S., and W.J.M. wrote the paper.

  • The authors declare no conflict of interest.

  • This article is a PNAS Direct Submission.

  • This article contains supporting information online at www.pnas.org/lookup/suppl/doi:10.1073/pnas.1312353110/-/DCSupplemental.

Next
Back to top
Article Alerts
Email Article

Thank you for your interest in spreading the word on PNAS.

NOTE: We only request your email address so that the person you are recommending the page to knows that you wanted them to see it, and that it is not junk mail. We do not capture any email address.

Enter multiple addresses on separate lines or separate them with commas.
Cognition, mood, and physiological concentrations of sex hormones in the early and late postmenopause
(Your Name) has sent you a message from PNAS
(Your Name) thought you would like to see the PNAS web site.
Citation Tools
Serum hormone levels, cognition, and mood
Victor W. Henderson, Jan A. St. John, Howard N. Hodis, Carol A. McCleary, Frank Z. Stanczyk, Roksana Karim, Donna Shoupe, Naoko Kono, Laurie Dustin, Hooman Allayee, Wendy J. Mack
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences Nov 2013, 201312353; DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1312353110

Citation Manager Formats

  • BibTeX
  • Bookends
  • EasyBib
  • EndNote (tagged)
  • EndNote 8 (xml)
  • Medlars
  • Mendeley
  • Papers
  • RefWorks Tagged
  • Ref Manager
  • RIS
  • Zotero
Request Permissions
Share
Serum hormone levels, cognition, and mood
Victor W. Henderson, Jan A. St. John, Howard N. Hodis, Carol A. McCleary, Frank Z. Stanczyk, Roksana Karim, Donna Shoupe, Naoko Kono, Laurie Dustin, Hooman Allayee, Wendy J. Mack
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences Nov 2013, 201312353; DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1312353110
del.icio.us logo Digg logo Reddit logo Twitter logo CiteULike logo Facebook logo Google logo Mendeley logo
  • Tweet Widget
  • Facebook Like
  • Mendeley logo Mendeley
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences: 116 (7)
Current Issue

Submit

Sign up for Article Alerts

Jump to section

  • Article
  • Figures & SI
  • Info & Metrics
  • PDF

You May Also be Interested in

Several aspects of the proposal, which aims to expand open access, require serious discussion and, in some cases, a rethink.
Opinion: “Plan S” falls short for society publishers—and for the researchers they serve
Several aspects of the proposal, which aims to expand open access, require serious discussion and, in some cases, a rethink.
Image credit: Dave Cutler (artist).
Several large or long-lived animals seem strangely resistant to developing cancer. Elucidating the reasons why could lead to promising cancer-fighting strategies in humans.
Core Concept: Solving Peto’s Paradox to better understand cancer
Several large or long-lived animals seem strangely resistant to developing cancer. Elucidating the reasons why could lead to promising cancer-fighting strategies in humans.
Image credit: Shutterstock.com/ronnybas frimages.
Featured Profile
PNAS Profile of NAS member and biochemist Hao Wu
 Nonmonogamous strawberry poison frog (Oophaga pumilio).  Image courtesy of Yusan Yang (University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh).
Putative signature of monogamy
A study suggests a putative gene-expression hallmark common to monogamous male vertebrates of some species, namely cichlid fishes, dendrobatid frogs, passeroid songbirds, common voles, and deer mice, and identifies 24 candidate genes potentially associated with monogamy.
Image courtesy of Yusan Yang (University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh).
Active lifestyles. Image courtesy of Pixabay/MabelAmber.
Meaningful life tied to healthy aging
Physical and social well-being in old age are linked to self-assessments of life worth, and a spectrum of behavioral, economic, health, and social variables may influence whether aging individuals believe they are leading meaningful lives.
Image courtesy of Pixabay/MabelAmber.

More Articles of This Classification

Biological Sciences

  • Structural basis for activity of TRIC counter-ion channels in calcium release
  • PGC1A regulates the IRS1:IRS2 ratio during fasting to influence hepatic metabolism downstream of insulin
  • Altered neural odometry in the vertical dimension
Show more

Neuroscience

  • Altered neural odometry in the vertical dimension
  • Insulin signaling in the hippocampus and amygdala regulates metabolism and neurobehavior
  • Inositol polyphosphate multikinase mediates extinction of fear memory
Show more

Related Content

  • In This Issue
  • Scopus
  • PubMed
  • Google Scholar

Cited by...

  • Cognitive effects of estradiol after menopause: A randomized trial of the timing hypothesis
  • Scopus (32)
  • Google Scholar

Similar Articles

Site Logo
Powered by HighWire
  • Submit Manuscript
  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • RSS Feeds
  • Email Alerts

Articles

  • Current Issue
  • Latest Articles
  • Archive

PNAS Portals

  • Classics
  • Front Matter
  • Teaching Resources
  • Anthropology
  • Chemistry
  • Physics
  • Sustainability Science

Information

  • Authors
  • Editorial Board
  • Reviewers
  • Press
  • Site Map

Feedback    Privacy/Legal

Copyright © 2019 National Academy of Sciences. Online ISSN 1091-6490