https://goo.gl/aFPwpo
A total of 172 perimenopausal or early postmenopausal women, who were medically healthy and without a diagnosis of major depressive disorders, bipolar, or any other psychotic disorder at time of enrollment, were randomized 1:1 to active treatment or placebo. All participants were community-dwelling women ages 45-60 and were not taking any medications to confound cardiovascular or endocrine profiles.
Beneficial treatment effects of E2 and IMP therapy compared to placebo were seen among early perimenopausal women, but were not seen among postmenopausal women. The authors suggested that one possible underlying mechanism to explain this finding might be attributed to the stabilization of fluctuating estradiol levels.
A significant interaction between treatment and recent stressful life events on depressive symptoms reported by the CES-D scale was also noted. Among women who reported high amounts of stressful life events prior to study inception, CES-D score was significantly lower among the TE+IMP group compared to placebo.
Gordon's group also found that prior history of depression, physical or sexual abuse, and baseline vasomotor symptoms and E2 levels were not significant moderators of the treatment effects.