Evidence map›Paper›PMID 35809362›Full record

Trial reportPsychoneuroendocrinology2022

Baseline anxiety-sensitivity to estradiol fluctuations predicts anxiety symptom response to transdermal estradiol treatment in perimenopausal women - A randomized clinical trial.

Serena Lozza-Fiacco, Jennifer Lee Gordon, Elizabeth Helen Andersen, Rachel Grace Kozik, Olivia Neely, Crystal Schiller, Maria Munoz, David R Rubinow, Susan S Girdler

Open access · greenAbstract readRandomized Controlled Trial
In one paragraph

Trial report in Psychoneuroendocrinology, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 13 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
13citing papers in PubMed
2.8field-weighted citation impact, top 8% of its field
1 · What the graph read from 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.

2 · The registry

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.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

13 citing papers in PubMed, 25 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Trial
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  3. Editorial: Menopause and mental health.International journal of gynaecology and obstetrics: the official organ of the International Federation of Gynaecology and Obstetrics · 2026
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4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

9 authors at 2 institutions in 3 countries.

Serena Lozza-FiaccoDepartment of Psychiatry, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC 27599, United States; Department of Psychology, University of Zurich, 8052 Zurich, Switzerland. Electronic address: serena_fiacco@med.unc.edu.
Jennifer Lee GordonDepartment of Psychology, University of Regina, Regina, Saskatchewan, S4S 0A2 Canada.
Elizabeth Helen AndersenDepartment of Psychiatry, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC 27599, United States.
Rachel Grace KozikDepartment of Psychiatry, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC 27599, United States.
Olivia NeelyDepartment of Psychiatry, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC 27599, United States.
Crystal SchillerDepartment of Psychiatry, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC 27599, United States.
Maria MunozDepartment of Psychiatry, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC 27599, United States.
David R RubinowDepartment of Psychiatry, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC 27599, United States.
Susan S GirdlerDepartment of Psychiatry, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC 27599, United States.
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill · USUniversity of Regina · CA

Funding

Re-Entry Supplement: Investigation of Oral Microbial Enzymes for the Detection and Treatment of Periodontal DiseaseUL1TR002489 · NCATS · UNIV OF NORTH CAROLINA CHAPEL HILL · PI BUSE, JOHN BERNARD, SHAHEEN, NICHOLAS J · 2018 to 2022
$48.6M
The Menopause Transition: Estrogen Variability, HPA axis and Affective SymptomsR01MH108690 · NIMH · UNIV OF NORTH CAROLINA CHAPEL HILL · PI GIRDLER, SUSAN S. · 2016 to 2020
$3.2M
NCATS NIH HHS UL1 TR002489NIMH NIH HHS R01 MH108690
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundThe menopausal transition (perimenopause) is associated with an increased risk of major depression, characterized by anxiety and anhedonia phenotypes. Greater estradiol (E2) variability predicts the development of perimenopausal depression, especially within the context of stressful life events (SLEs). While transdermal E2 (TE2) reduces perimenopausal depressive symptoms, the mechanisms underlying TE2 efficacy and predictors of TE2 treatment response remain unknown. This study aimed at determining relationships between E2 fluctuations, mood symptoms, and physiologic stress-reactivity (cortisol and interleukin-6) and whether differences in mood-sensitivity to E2 fluctuations predict mood responses to TE2 treatment.

methodsThis randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial investigated medically healthy women (46-60 years) in the early or late menopause transition. Baseline E2-sensitivity strength was calculated from eight weekly individual correlations between week-to-week E2 change and index week anxiety (State-Trait Anxiety Inventory) and anhedonia (Snaith-Hamilton Pleasure Scale). Women then received eight weeks of TE2 or transdermal placebo.

resultsAnalyses included 73 women (active TE2 n = 35). Greater baseline E2 fluctuations predicted greater anhedonia (p = .002), particularly in women with more SLEs. Greater E2 fluctuations also predicted higher cortisol (p = .012) and blunted interleukin-6 (p = .02) stress-responses. Controlling for baseline symptoms, TE2 was associated with lower post-treatment anxiety (p < .001) and anhedonia (p < .001) versus placebo. However, the efficacy of TE2 for anxiety (p = .007) and also for somatic complaints (p = .05) was strongest in women with greater baseline E2 sensitivity strength.

conclusionsTE2 treatment reduced perimenopausal anxiety and anhedonia. The ability of baseline mood-sensitivity to E2 fluctuations to predict greater TE2 efficacy has implications for individualized treatment of perimenopausal anxiety disorders.

Indexed as

EstradiolPerimenopauseAnhedoniaAnxietyAnxiety DisordersDouble-Blind MethodFemaleHumansHydrocortisoneInterleukin-6EstradiolHydrocortisoneInterleukin-6AnhedoniaAnxietyDifferential sensitivityEstradiol fluctuationsPerimenopauseTransdermal estradiol

Identifiers

PMID35809362
PMCPMC9716440
OpenAlexW4283781855

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceTDM
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

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.