Why you should worry about your iron levels during transition to menopause | MAG

There is much talk about menopause and how it causes hormonal changes in women; However, little is said about the transition to this period that also has an impact on the quality of life of women. In that sense, a new research from the University of Oklahoma has approached one of the least studied points of this stage in the lives of all women.

The research published in Nutrients focuses on blood iron levels and its relationship with cognitive performance in women during transition to menopause. The study suggests that when women have adequate levels of iron in the blood during the menopausal transition, also called perimenopause, their cognitive performance is better. The study also indicated that maintaining an adequate level of iron in blood did not translate into insecure iron levels in the brain, which can increase the risk of neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s.

“When a woman enters the menopausal transition, she no longer loses blood every month, which implies that she no longer loses iron”explained Michael Wenger, main author of the study and professor of psychology at the Faculty of Arts and Sciences of the University of Oklahoma. “We wanted to check if the cost of iron deficiency disappears during the menopausal transition. Very few studies have been carried out in this area”he added.

The team of researchers measured blood iron levels, made magnetic resonances to determine the amount of iron in the brain and evaluated cognition behavioral measures. None of the women in the study presented iron deficiency; However, several presented less than expected levels for their age. Women with levels lower than expected iron in blood obtained worse results in memory, attention and cognition measures.

“Our previous investigations have shown that iron deficiency entails significant costs in terms of cognitive performance”, Said Wenger.“If I gave a woman with iron deficiency a simple task in which she pressed a button every time an asterisk appeared on the screen, the deficiency would cost her about 150 milliseconds. It does not seem much, but we make simple decisions like that when choosing every word we say in a prayer. Those 150 milliseconds accumulate”, Explained the author.

It is important to highlight that the amount of iron in blood did not predict the amount of iron deposited in a woman’s brain, Wenger said. “We have long known that the accumulation of iron in the brain is a Risk factor for the development of diseases such as Alzheimer’s and vascular dementia”He said. “These data were surprising and good news, since it seems that having iron levels equal or higher than expected for age does not mean that more iron is accumulating in the brain”.

As Wenger explained, although a low iron level can increase the risk of developing anemia, there are various reasons that can cause this condition. Nevertheless, Many women visiting their gynecologist are not subjected to testing to detect iron deficiency, which represents an opportunity that should not be ignored.

According to the researcher, A low iron level could be one of the causes of the mental confusion that some women experience during menopause, as well as the reason behind the visual changes they mention during this transition. “Iron is essential for the synthesis of the neurotransmitter dopamine, and the visual system requires dopamine to send signals in the first contact with the light”he explained.

The researcher explained that taking iron supplements is not usually the best option, since they cause important gastrointestinal side effects. However, a low dose could be effective, as well as diet changes to consume more iron -rich foods. “Making these small changes could facilitate the transition from premenopause women to postmenopause”He noted.