Trial reportThe Journal of clinical endocrinology and metabolism2011
Increased estradiol and improved sleep, but not hot flashes, predict enhanced mood during the menopausal transition.
Trial report in The Journal of clinical endocrinology and metabolism, 2011. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. It is linked to trial NCT04841499 (Effects of a Seven-day BASIS™ Supplementation on Menopausal Syndromes and Measurements of the Urinary Vitamin B3 and Estradiol Levels in Pre-, Peri- and Post-menopause), which is not on this map. Cited by 53 papers, 5 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Effects of a Seven-day BASIS™ Supplementation on Menopausal Syndromes and Measurements of the Urinary Vitamin B3 and Estradiol Levels in Pre-, Peri- and Post-menopause
Who cites it
53 citing papers in PubMed, 5 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 110 citations in OpenAlex.
- Pharmacotherapy, acupoint stimulation, and psychotherapy for perimenopausal women with anxiety, depression, and panic disorder: a systematic review and network meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials.Frontiers in psychiatry · 2026Pooled it
- Efficacy of hormone therapy and phytoestrogens on the psychological symptoms of menopausal women: a systematic review, meta-analysis, and trial sequential analysis.Frontiers in medicine · 2026Pooled it
- Efficacy of menopausal hormone therapy on sleep quality: systematic review and meta-analysis.Endocrine · 2017Pooled it
- EFFICACY OF ESTRADIOL IN PERIMENOPAUSAL DEPRESSION: SO MUCH PROMISE AND SO FEW ANSWERS.Depression and anxiety · 2015Pooled it
- The 2012 hormone therapy position statement of: The North American Menopause Society.Menopause (New York, N.Y.) · 2012Guideline
- Trial
- Nicotinamide riboside and pterostilbene reduces frequency and severity of undesirable symptoms of the menopause transition: an open-label, pilot clinical trial.Frontiers in aging · 2026Trial
- The short-term effects of estradiol, raloxifene, and a phytoestrogen in women with perimenopausal depression.Menopause (New York, N.Y.) · 2021Trial
- The Effect of Perimenopausal Transdermal Estradiol and Micronized Progesterone on Markers of Risk for Arterial Disease.The Journal of clinical endocrinology and metabolism · 2020Trial
- Efficacy of Transdermal Estradiol and Micronized Progesterone in the Prevention of Depressive Symptoms in the Menopause Transition: A Randomized Clinical Trial.JAMA psychiatry · 2018Trial
- Estradiol variability, stressful life events, and the emergence of depressive symptomatology during the menopausal transition.Menopause (New York, N.Y.) · 2016Trial
- Effects of Estradiol Withdrawal on Mood in Women With Past Perimenopausal Depression: A Randomized Clinical Trial.JAMA psychiatry · 2015Trial
- Effect of medroxyprogesterone on depressive symptoms in depressed and nondepressed perimenopausal and postmenopausal women after discontinuation of transdermal estradiol therapy.Menopause (New York, N.Y.) · 2012Trial
- The effects of menopausal hormone therapy on cardiovascular disease, cancer, cognition and depression in younger women: A systematic review.JRSM open · 2026Review
- Therapeutic Effects of Fermented Soy Extract on Osteoporotic Changes in Ovariectomized Mice as a Model of Menopause.Molecular nutrition & food research · 2026Article
- The Role and Mechanism of Estrogen in Perimenopausal Depression.Current neuropharmacology · 2026Review
- Mechanism of Microbiota-Gut-Brain in Perimenopausal Depression: An Inflammatory Perspective.Expert reviews in molecular medicine · 2025Review
- Menopause-Related Changes in Sleep and the Associations with Cardiometabolic Health: A Narrative Review.Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Review
- The 2025 Menopausal Hormone Therapy Guidelines - Korean Society of Menopause.Journal of menopausal medicine · 2025Review
- Sleep Disturbance and Perimenopause: A Narrative Review.Journal of clinical medicine · 2025Review
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
11 authors at 4 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundThe antidepressant effect of estrogen in women undergoing the menopause transition is hypothesized to be mediated by central nervous system effects of increasing estradiol on mood or through a pathway involving suppression of hot flashes and associated sleep disturbance. Estrogen therapy (ET) and the hypnotic agent zolpidem were selected as interventions in a three-arm, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial to distinguish the effects of estradiol, sleep, and hot flashes on depression.
methodsWomen with depressive disorders, hot flashes, and sleep disturbance were randomly assigned to transdermal 17β-estradiol 0.05 mg/d, zolpidem 10 mg/d, or placebo for 8 wk. Changes in serum estradiol, perceived sleep quality, objectively measured sleep, and hot flashes were examined as predictors of depression improvement [Montgomery-Åsberg Depression Rating Scale (MADRS)] using multivariate linear regression.
resultsSeventy-two peri/postmenopausal women with depression disorders were randomized to 17β-estradiol (n = 27), zolpidem (n = 31), or placebo (n = 14). There was no significant difference between groups in depression improvement (overall MADRS decrease 11.8 ± 8.6). Increasing estradiol (P = 0.009) and improved sleep quality (P < 0.001) predicted improved mood in adjusted models but reduced hot flashes (P = 0.99) did not. Post hoc subgroup analyses revealed that the therapeutic effect of increasing estradiol levels on mood was seen in perimenopausal (P = 0.009), but not postmenopausal, women.
conclusionsFor women with menopause-associated depression, improvement in depression is predicted by improved sleep, and among perimenopausal women, by increasing estradiol levels. These results suggest that changes in estradiol and sleep quality, rather than hot flashes, mediate depression during the menopause transition. Therapies targeting insomnia may be valuable in treating menopause-associated depression.
Indexed as
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What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.