The Effects of Estrogen Withdrawal on Mood Symptoms in Women

NCT00060736 | Completed

• 2 other identifiers: 03017503-M-0175
• Study Type: observational
• Target: 60
• Locations: 1 country
• Sites: 1

Brief Summary

This study evaluates the effects on mood when stopping estrogen replacement therapy. The purpose of this study is to investigate the effects of estrogen levels on perimenopausal depression. This study will examine short-term withdrawal of estrogen in women whose mood had improved with estrogen therapy. Perimenopause-related mood disorders cause significant distress in a large number of women. Evidence suggests that estradiol may have beneficial effects in women with perimenopausal depression. However, the effect of declining estradiol secretion during perimenopause has not been fully examined. Peri- and post-menopausal women who experience a remission of perimenopause-related depression symptoms while on estrogen therapy and a control group of healthy volunteers on hormone replacement therapy (HRT) will be switched from their current form of HRT to estradiol for a 3-week period; volunteers will also complete symptom ratings to confirm the absence of mood symptoms. Participants will then be randomly assigned to either continue estradiol or take a placebo (an inactive pill) for an additional 3 weeks. Mood ratings will be used to determine response to estradiol withdrawal. ...

Conditions

Perimenopausal Depression; Post Menopausal; Healthy; Depression

Keywords

Hormone Replacement; Gonadal Steroids; Estrogen; Major Depression; Minor Depression; Perimenopause; Estradiol; Depression; Perimenopausal Depression

Eligibility Criteria

• Age: 45 Years - 65 Years
• Sex: female
• Healthy Volunteers: No
• Age Groups: Adult (18-64), Older Adult (65+)

You may qualify if:

• All subjects for this protocol will be either self-referred in response to newspaper advertisements or referred by their personal physician. The women participating in this protocol will have previously completed the screening protocol # 88-M-0131 and, therefore, will have had the presence or absence of perimenopausal or menopausal reproductive status evaluated and documented.
• Women with a past perimenopause-related depression (within 12 years) and whose depression responded to ET will be recruited to participate in this randomized, parallel-design, double-blind, placebo-controlled study. Women with histories of either perimenopausal depression that was not responsive to ET or hormone replacement therapy-induced dysphoria due to either the estrogen or the progesterone components of their hormone replacement will be excluded. The diagnosis of perimenopause-related depression will be based on a history of a past depressive episode (major or minor depression confirmed by Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-IV (SCID) or Schedule of Affective Disorders and Schizophrenia-Lifetime Version (SADS-L), respectively) at midlife in association with menstrual cycle irregularity and the history of remission (also confirmed by SCID or SADS-L) of this depression after ET. Additionally, all women will report that they were placed on HRT for the treatment of perimenopausal symptoms, including depression.
• Age 45 to 65
• In good medical health
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• Women without past perimenopausal depression -
• To control for the effects of the hormonal manipulations in this protocol, we will also recruit a group of asymptomatic controls who are either currently on ET or were prescribed ET previously and with no previous history of perimenopause-related depression or HRT-induced dysphoria. Women who participate in this study as the asymptomatic comparison group will meet the following criteria:
• Women who received hormone therapy (HT) with no previous history of perimenopause-related depression or HT-induced dysphoria
• No current mood or behavioral problems
• Age 45 to 65
• In good medical health

You may not qualify if:

• past history of severe major depression with suicidal ideation
• current treatment with antidepressant medications
• history of ischemic cardiac disease, pulmonary embolism, or thrombophlebitis
• renal disease
• hepatic dysfunction
• women with a history of carcinoma of the breast
• women with a history of uterine cancer, ill-defined pelvic lesions, particularly undiagnosed ovarian enlargement, undiagnosed vaginal bleeding
• pregnant women
• cerebrovascular disease (stroke)
• recurrent migraine headaches

Sponsors & Collaborators

• National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH): lead

Study Sites (1)

National Institutes of Health Clinical Center, 9000 Rockville Pike

Bethesda, Maryland, 20892, United States

Location

Related Publications (5)

• Rossouw JE, Anderson GL, Prentice RL, LaCroix AZ, Kooperberg C, Stefanick ML, Jackson RD, Beresford SA, Howard BV, Johnson KC, Kotchen JM, Ockene J; Writing Group for the Women's Health Initiative Investigators. Risks and benefits of estrogen plus progestin in healthy postmenopausal women: principal results From the Women's Health Initiative randomized controlled trial. JAMA. 2002 Jul 17;288(3):321-33. doi: 10.1001/jama.288.3.321.

  PMID: 12117397 BACKGROUND

• Serin IS, Ozcelik B, Basbug M, Aygen E, Kula M, Erez R. Long-term effects of continuous oral and transdermal estrogen replacement therapy on sex hormone binding globulin and free testosterone levels. Eur J Obstet Gynecol Reprod Biol. 2001 Dec 1;99(2):222-5. doi: 10.1016/s0301-2115(01)00398-0.

  PMID: 11788176 BACKGROUND

• Schmidt PJ, Nieman L, Danaceau MA, Tobin MB, Roca CA, Murphy JH, Rubinow DR. Estrogen replacement in perimenopause-related depression: a preliminary report. Am J Obstet Gynecol. 2000 Aug;183(2):414-20. doi: 10.1067/mob.2000.106004.

  PMID: 10942479 BACKGROUND

• Rudzinskas S, Hoffman JF, Martinez P, Rubinow DR, Schmidt PJ, Goldman D. In vitro model of perimenopausal depression implicates steroid metabolic and proinflammatory genes. Mol Psychiatry. 2021 Jul;26(7):3266-3276. doi: 10.1038/s41380-020-00860-x. Epub 2020 Aug 12.

  PMID: 32788687 DERIVED

• Schmidt PJ, Ben Dor R, Martinez PE, Guerrieri GM, Harsh VL, Thompson K, Koziol DE, Nieman LK, Rubinow DR. Effects of Estradiol Withdrawal on Mood in Women With Past Perimenopausal Depression: A Randomized Clinical Trial. JAMA Psychiatry. 2015 Jul;72(7):714-26. doi: 10.1001/jamapsychiatry.2015.0111.

  PMID: 26018333 DERIVED

MeSH Terms

Conditions

Depression; Depressive Disorder, Major

Condition Hierarchy (Ancestors)

Behavioral Symptoms; Behavior; Depressive Disorder; Mood Disorders; Mental Disorders

Study Officials

• Peter J Schmidt, M.D.

  National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH)

  PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR

Study Design

• Study Type: observational
• Sponsor Type: NIH
• Responsible Party: SPONSOR

Study Record Dates

• First Submitted: May 9, 2003
• First Posted: May 12, 2003
• Study Start: May 5, 2003
• Study Completion: April 27, 2016
• Last Updated: December 16, 2019

Record last verified: 2016-04-27

Locations

US (1)