Worse sleep architecture but not self-reported insomnia and sleepiness is associated with higher cortisol levels in menopausal women.

Objective: Worsening of sleep quality during menopause is well recognized. However, the underlying hormonal regulation is insufficiently described. In this study, we evaluated associations between sleep and cortisol levels.

Effect of menopause and age on vascular impairment.

Aims: The prevalence of cardiovascular diseases increases in women after menopause. The aim of the study was to determine the impact of conventional cardiovascular risk factors such as age, blood pressure, smoking, cholesterol, obesity, and glucose balance, but also menopausal state and sleep-disordered breathing on vascular impairment during menopausal transition.

Methods: 89 women initiated the study and 74 of them participated in the 10-year follow-up.

Early signs of sleep-disordered breathing in healthy women predict carotid intima-media thickening after 10 years.

Background: Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is the leading cause of death in women. The risk of CVD increases in women after menopause. The aim was to study how sleep parameters and cardiovascular risk factors in 46-year-old women predict future carotid intima-media thickness (IMT) 10 years after.

Nighttime melatonin secretion and sleep architecture: different associations in perimenopausal and postmenopausal women.

Background: Sleep quality typically decreases after menopause, but the underlying mechanisms are poorly understood. Concentrations of melatonin are lower and its secretion profiles different before and after menopause. However, whether and how melatonin and sleep architecture are associated in women of different reproductive states have not been examined to date.

Sleep during menopausal transition: a 10-year follow-up.

Study Objectives: A 10-year observational follow-up study to evaluate the changes in sleep architecture during the menopausal transition.

Methods: Fifty-seven premenopausal women (mean age 46 years, SD 0.9) were studied at baseline and after a 10-year follow-up.

The relationship between diurnal cortisol secretion and climacteric-related symptoms.

Objectives: Chronic stress, also associated with climacteric-related symptoms, may influence cortisol secretion. We studied cortisol metabolism in peri- and postmenopausal women with diverse climacteric-related symptoms.

Study Design And Main Outcome Measures: The study population was 35 women, aged 45-70 years.

First-Night Effect on Sleep in Different Female Reproductive States.

Objectives: In sleep laboratory studies, the new environment is generally considered to disturb sleep during the first night. However, older women have rarely been studied. Although menopause and hormone therapy affect sleep, their impact on the first-night effect is virtually unknown.

Cardiac autonomic changes after 40 hours of total sleep deprivation in women.

Objectives: The effect of total sleep deprivation on heart rate variability (HRV) in groups of postmenopausal women on oral hormone therapy (HT) (on-HT, n = 10, 64.2 (1.4) years), postmenopausal women without HT (off-HT, n = 10, 64.

The relationship between mood and sleep in different female reproductive states.

Background: Sleep is disrupted in depressed subjects, but it also deteriorates with age and possibly with the transition to menopause. The nature of interaction between mood, sleep, age and reproductive state is not well-defined. The aim of this study was to evaluate the relationship between mood and sleep among healthy women in different reproductive states.

The effect of hormone therapy on serum melatonin concentrations in premenopausal and postmenopausal women: a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study.

Objectives: Melatonin levels decrease physiologically with age, and possibly with the transition to menopause. The plausible influence of hormone therapy (HT) on melatonin is poorly understood. The aim of this randomized, placebo-controlled, double-blind trial was to investigate the effect of HT administration on serum melatonin concentrations in late premenopausal and postmenopausal women.

Melatonin in perimenopausal and postmenopausal women: associations with mood, sleep, climacteric symptoms, and quality of life.

Objective: Melatonin synthesis and secretion are partly modulated by estrogen and progesterone. Changes in melatonin concentrations, possibly related to the menopausal transition, may be associated with climacteric mood, sleep, and vasomotor symptoms. The aims of this study were to compare the serum concentrations of melatonin in perimenopausal and postmenopausal women and to evaluate melatonin's influence on mood, sleep, vasomotor symptoms, and quality of life.

The association of serum oestradiol level, age, and education with cognitive performance in peri- and late postmenopausal women.

Objectives: To evaluate whether healthy women show cognitive changes after menopause and whether the possible changes are oestrogen-, age- or education-dependent.

Methods: Forty-eight women, 21 perimenopausal (aged 43-51 years) and 27 late postmenopausal (aged 59-71 years), participated in the study. Verbal and visuomotor functions, visuoconstructive skills, visual and verbal episodic memory as well as attention were evaluated.

The temporal relationship between growth hormone and slow wave sleep is weaker after menopause.

Objective: To study the temporal association between growth hormone (GH) and slow wave sleep (SWS) in middle-aged women.

Methods: Seventeen premenopausal and 18 postmenopausal women were studied using all-night polygraphic sleep recordings and blood sampling at 20-min intervals. The postmenopausal women were re-studied after six months on hormone therapy (HT) according to a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled protocol.

Estrogen + progestin therapy and cognition: a randomized placebo-controlled double-blind study.

Aims: The use of hormone therapy (HT) is a relevant and topical issue in the treatment of menopausal symptoms in women. Information regarding the effects of combination treatment with estrogen and progesterone as well as treatment timing on cognitive function is lacking and was evaluated in healthy pre- and postmenopausal women.

Methods: Sixteen premenopausal (45-51 years) and 16 postmenopausal (58-70 years) women were randomly assigned to receive either estrogen + progestin therapy (HT) or placebo (PL) for six months.

24-hour serum levels of growth hormone, prolactin, and cortisol in pre- and postmenopausal women: the effect of combined estrogen and progestin treatment.

Objective: Our objective was to study the 24-h profiles of GH, prolactin (PRL), and cortisol concentrations in older postmenopausal and middle-aged premenopausal women, before and after estrogen-progestin treatment (EPT).

Design: The study was a randomized, placebo-controlled, double-blind trial. GH, PRL, and cortisol were sampled every 20 min for 24 h in 18 postmenopausal (aged 58-70 yr) and 17 premenopausal (aged 45-51 yr) women before and after 6 months of EPT.

Gender differences in age and BMI distributions in partial upper airway obstruction during sleep.

The obstructive sleep apnea-hypopnea syndrome occurs more frequently and with higher apnea-hypopnea indices in men than in women. To investigate the gender differences we extended our respiratory analyses during sleep to cover not only periodic obstruction (apnea and hypopnea) but also nonperiodic partial upper airway obstruction during sleep and their associations with increasing age or body mass index (BMI). The clinical sleep recordings with the static-charge-sensitive bed (SCSB) and oximeter were reviewed in 233 age and BMI-matched men-women pairs.

CPAP adherence and partial upper airway obstruction during sleep.

Nasal continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) is the treatment of choice in severe obstructive sleep-disordered breathing (SDB). Partial obstruction is usually considered as mild SDB with poor CPAP adherence. In a retrospective study, we investigated the occurrence of partial obstruction in 233 age and BMI-matched male-female pairs and its impact on CPAP adherence after one year using static-charge-sensitive bed.

Impact of menopause on the manifestation and severity of sleep-disordered breathing.

Background: Decreased production of female hormones might explain the increased prevalence of sleep-disordered breathing in postmenopausal women.

Objectives: We evaluated, whether menopause has an impact on the manifestation of sleep-disordered breathing in terms of signs, symptoms, and breathing pattern.

Methods: The study was a cross-sectional study utilizing a patient database, hospital records, sleep studies, and questionnaires.

Sleep deprivation and hormone therapy in postmenopausal women.

Background And Purpose: Sleep complaints increase after menopause, but literature on the effect of postmenopausal hormone therapy (HT) on sleep is controversial. The purpose of this study was to determine the effect of ageing and HT on sleep quality, assessed using polysomnography, and on the accuracy of the subjective estimation of sleep quality in women before and after sleep deprivation.

Patients And Methods: Twenty postmenopausal women (aged 58-72 years) were recruited: 10 HT-users and 10 non-HT-users.