Research shows that women are more than twice as likely to develop bipolar disorder in the years leading up to menopause.
Researchers studied data from 128,294 British women in the four years surrounding their last menstrual period.
Analysis found that during perimenopause there was a 112 percent increase in cases of bipolar disorder, while cases of major depression increased by 30 percent.
Perimenopause is a time when a woman experiences symptoms of menopause, such as anxiety, mood swings, and brain fog, but still has periods.
Study leader Professor Arianna Di Florio from Cardiff University said: ‘Around 80 per cent of people develop symptoms during perimenopause, but the impact on the onset of serious mental illness was unknown.
Analysis found there was a 112 percent increase in bipolar disorder during perimenopause, while the onset of major depressive disorder increased by 30 percent (stock image)
Study leader Professor Arianna Di Florio from Cardiff University (pictured) said: ‘During perimenopause, around 80 per cent of people develop symptoms, but the impact on the onset of serious mental illness was unknown’
‘In my clinic I discovered that some women who had not previously had serious mental health problems developed serious mental health problems around menopause.
‘I feel a duty to the women I work with.
‘I wanted to give them and other women answers to the question of why this terrible thing happened to them.’
Professor Di Florio said the findings could provide additional support to women who were ‘previously left in the dark’.
“Research like this is essential as women experience these dramatic changes in their lives and bodies and are currently disappointed by the lack of detailed knowledge about these changes,” she added.
‘We have been able to increase our knowledge of the mental health changes that accompany perimenopause, which can provide more explanation, diagnosis and support for women who previously did not know what was happening to them.’
The research, published in the journal Nature Mental Health, was carried out in collaboration with the charity Bipolar UK and the UK Biobank.
Clare Dolman, ambassador for Bipolar UK and responsible for patient and public engagement with the project, said the findings could be “life-saving”.
She added: ‘This study is incredibly important because it shows for the first time in a very large study that menopause has a measurable impact on women’s mental health.
Bipolar disorder is a mental health condition that affects your moods, which can go from one extreme to the other (stock image)
‘To me, this confirms what we have observed and heard from women with bipolar disorder: hormonal changes are a very important factor in mood disorders and deserve thorough investigation.
‘As a woman with bipolar disorder and in menopause myself, I look forward to the research community recognizing the importance of this funding.
“The studies will allow us to predict an individual woman’s risk of unexpected illness at this point in her life. That knowledge could be life-saving.”
The study focused on first experiences with psychiatric disorders during perimenopause and did not examine the association with recurrence of pre-existing psychiatric disorders.
According to Bipolar UK, more research is needed, focusing on people with a history of mental illness.