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Cited by 42Menopause: Health Impacts and TreatmentsDementia and Cognitive Impairment ResearchEstrogen and related hormone effects

Association of bilateral oophorectomy with cognitive function in healthy, postmenopausal women

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Kurita, Keiko, Henderson, Victor W., Gatz, Margaret, St. John, Jan, Hodis, Howard N., Karim, Roksana, Mack, Wendy J.·2016·Fertility and Sterility
DOI 10.1016/j.fertnstert.2016.04.033PMC PMC5743432
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Abstract

Objective To investigate the association between bilateral oophorectomy and cognitive performance in healthy, older women. Design Retrospective analysis of clinical trial data. Setting Academic research institution. Patient(s) Healthy postmenopausal women without signs or symptoms of cardiovascular disease or diabetes (n = 926). Intervention(s) Randomized interventions (not the focus of this analysis) in analyzed trials included B-vitamins, soy isoflavones, oral estradiol, and matching placebos. Main outcome measure(s) Measures in five cognitive domains (executive functions, semantic memory, logical memory, visual memory, and verbal learning) and global cognitive function. Result(s) Using data from three clinical trials conducted under uniform conditions, bilateral oophorectomy and its timing were analyzed cross-sectionally and longitudinally in relation to cognitive function in linear regression models. Covariates included age, education, race/ethnicity, body mass index, trial, and randomized treatment (in longitudinal models). Duration of menopausal hormone use was considered as a possible mediator and effect modifier. Median age of oophorectomy was 45 years. When evaluating baseline cognition, we found that surgical menopause after 45 years of age was associated with lower performance in verbal learning compared with natural menopause. Evaluating the change in cognition over approximately 2.7 years, surgical menopause was associated with performance declines in visual memory for those who had an oophorectomy after 45 years of age and in semantic memory for those who had oophorectomy before 45 years of age compared with natural menopause. Oophorectomy after natural menopause was not associated with cognitive performance. Adjustment for duration of hormone use did not alter these associations. Conclusion(s) Cognitive associations with ovarian removal vary by timing of surgery relative to both menopause and age.

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  • Undergoing surgical menopause is associated with increased risk of cognitive complaints and cognitive performance declines, particularly if surgery occurs before age 40 or natural menopause.

    “However, undergoing surgical menopause is associated with increased risk of cognitive complaints, cognitive performance declines, and possibly increased dementia risk, particularly if surgery occurs before age 40 or natural menopause [2–7].”

    From Treating new-onset cognitive complaints after risk-reducing salpingo-oophorectomy: A randomized controlled crossover trial of lisdexamfetamine (2024) · cites this paper as [5]

    The Results (page not provided) associate surgical menopause before natural menopause with declines in specific cognitive domains, with findings differing for surgery before versus after age 45. The paper does not establish a particular threshold at age 40, and its cognitive-test outcomes do not support the claim about cognitive complaints. (LLM, conf=0.88)

    Experimental — accuracy not yet measured

  • Surgical menopause is associated with more severe cognitive impairments relative to natural postmenopause; younger age at surgical menopause worsens these cognitive outcomes.

    “Surgical menopause is associated with more severe cognitive impairments relative to natural postmenopause; younger age at surgical menopause worsens these cognitive outcomes [3,5,6].”

    From Treating new-onset cognitive complaints after risk-reducing salpingo-oophorectomy: A randomized controlled crossover trial of lisdexamfetamine (2024) · cites this paper as [5]

    The Results and Discussion report poorer performance or decline in specific cognitive domains after surgical menopause compared with natural menopause. They do not show that younger surgical menopause uniformly worsens cognitive outcomes: surgery before and after age 45 was associated with declines in different domains, and the Results state that age at menopause itself was not associated with cognitive function. (LLM, conf=0.87)

    Experimental — accuracy not yet measured

  • Undergoing surgical menopause is possibly associated with increased dementia risk.

    “However, undergoing surgical menopause is associated with increased risk of cognitive complaints, cognitive performance declines, and possibly increased dementia risk, particularly if surgery occurs before age 40 or natural menopause [2–7].”

    From Treating new-onset cognitive complaints after risk-reducing salpingo-oophorectomy: A randomized controlled crossover trial of lisdexamfetamine (2024) · cites this paper as [5]

    The Results report declines in some measures of cognitive performance after surgical menopause, but the study does not report dementia incidence or risk. A search for “dementia” found it in reference titles, not in a passage stating the claimed association. (LLM, conf=0.76)

    Experimental — accuracy not yet measured

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Cited by

Sorted by citations

Authors
Kurita, K., Henderson, V. W., Gatz, M., St. John, J., Hodis, H. N., Karim, R., & Mack, W. J.
Affiliations
  • New York University (US)
  • Stanford University (US)
  • University of Southern California (US)
Corresponding author
Mack, Wendy J.
ORCID
Venue
Fertility and Sterility
Publisher
Elsevier BV
Published
2016-09
Volume
106
Issue
3
Pages
749-756.e2
ISSN
0015-0282 (ISSN-L)
DOI
10.1016/j.fertnstert.2016.04.033
PMC
PMC5743432
OpenAlex
W2347810373
Cited by
42
References
3
Citations by year
2026: 1 · 2025: 3 · 2024: 6 · 2023: 5 · 2022: 5 · 2021: 5 · 2020: 5 · 2019: 2 · 2018: 7 · 2017: 1 · 2016: 2
FWCI
4.02
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Licence
Locations
  • Fertility and Sterility (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • Europe PMC (PubMed Central) (acceptedVersion)
  • PubMed Central (acceptedVersion)
Funders
  • National Institutes of Health
  • Office of Research on Women's Health (U01AT001653)
  • National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine
  • National Institute on Aging (F31AG040937, R01AG17160, R01AG024154, P01AG026572, 5T32AG00037)
  • Office of Dietary Supplements
  • Health Resources and Services Administration (T32HP22238)
Topics
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Endocrinology, Diabetes and Metabolism › Menopause: Health Impacts and Treatments
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Psychiatry and Mental health › Dementia and Cognitive Impairment Research
  • Life Sciences › Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology › Genetics › Estrogen and related hormone effects
Keywords
bilateral oophorectomy, cognitive function, surgical menopause, natural menopause, postmenopausal women, verbal learning, visual memory, semantic memory, executive function, hormone replacement therapy, ovarian removal
MeSH terms
Age Factors, Aged, Cognition, Cognition Disorders, Female, Humans, Memory, Middle Aged, Ovariectomy, Retrospective Studies, Risk Factors, Time Factors, Verbal Behavior, Linear Models, Randomized Controlled Trials as Topic, Treatment Outcome, Postmenopause, Executive Function

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