Hormones Can affect Mental Health Vivien K. Burt. M.D. PH.D. UCLA psychiatrist
10:34 21.07.2008Hormonal changes and reproductive life events can increase women's susceptibility to psychiatric conditions such as depression and anxiety. This is even more so in women infected with HIV. There is an association between times of dramatic hormonal changes and vulnerability to psychiatric conditions. In the postpartum period when levels of estrogen and other hormones decline rapidly, women are much more susceptible to depression, anxiety disorder, and in the most serious cases psychosis. If a woman has a previous history of mood disorder it increases their risk, but new cases are also possible. Declining estrogen levels during menopause are associated with similar risks, as are hormonal changes for women with premenstrual dysphoric disorder or premenstrual syndrome.
