ABSTRACT
Background: levels of estradiol decreases as women arrive the menopausal transition and enter to a low, steady level during the early postmenopause. In addition, memory dysfunction are highly prevalent during this period
Objective: our study was designed to determine whether endogenous levels of estradiol are related to cognitive function in postmenopausal
Materials and Methods: the cross-sectional study was conducted between November 2015 to February 2016 on 209 healthy postmenopausal women. The women filled out the Montreal Cognitive Assessment [MoCA] scale. Then, estradiol level was tested for association with cognitive function adjusted for factors supposed to confound this association
Results: the prevalence of cognitive dysfunction; MoCA points >/= 26 in our participants was 62.7%, and mean +/- SD of estradiol level was 14.92 +/- 10.24pg/ml in participants with cognitive dysfunction in comparison with 21.67 +/- 14.92pg/ml in those with normal cognitive function [p<0.001]. There were significant association between MoCA points with estradiol level [p<0.001] and educational status [p<0.001]
Conclusion: estradiol replacement therapy in postmenopausal women with low endogenous estradiol levels and decreased cognitive function might be necessary