A BSTRACT Introduction: Cognitive decline following menopause is a well-documented phenomenon, with women at significantly greater risk for dementia than men. This decline is multifactorial, linked not only to estrogen depletion, which directly affects brain tissue, but also to menopausal symptoms such as sleep disturbances, mood changes, and hot flashes. Endocrine aging has been associated with elevated Alzheimer’s biomarkers and observable MRI changes, reinforcing the vulnerability of postmenopausal women to cognitive impairment. This study utilizes the Addenbrooke’s Cognitive Examination-III (ACE-III) to assess domain-specific cognitive decline and identify correlates of Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI). Aims and Objectives: This study aims to evaluate cognitive function in middle-aged postmenopausal women, assess the prevalence of MCI, identify the most affected cognitive domains, and correlate cognitive scores with the duration of menopause and comorbidities such as hypertension, diabetes, and obesity. Setting and Design: A descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted in a tertiary care hospital in India among 90 postmenopausal women aged 41–60 years. Cognitive assessment was carried out using ACE-III, evaluating five domains: attention, memory, fluency, language, and visuospatial abilities. Exclusion criteria included surgical menopause, hormone replacement therapy, and preexisting neurological or psychiatric conditions. Results: The prevalence of MCI was 78.88% ( n = 71), with memory and fluency emerging as the most affected domains. A strong negative correlation was found between duration since menopause and total ACE-III score ( r = −0.7192, P < 0.001). Diabetes was significantly associated with poorer memory ( P = 0.03), and obesity with reduced visuospatial abilities ( P = 0.05). No significant association was observed with hypertension. These findings highlight the need for early cognitive screening and focused peri-menopausal attention.
Goswami et al. (Thu,) studied this question.