Low Iron Levels Can Lead to Mental Sluggishness Durng Menopause

New research from the University of Oklahoma sheds light on a previously little-studied area of science: iron levels in the blood and their link to cognitive performance in menopausal women. The findings are good news for women who suffer from brain fog and other symptoms. The study, published in the journal Nutrients, suggests that women who have adequate iron levels in their blood during menopause perform better on cognitive tasks. Furthermore, adequate iron levels in the blood were not synonymous with unstable iron levels in the brain, which have been shown to increase the risk of neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s.

How Iron Levels Affect Cognitive Performance in Menopausal Women

“When a woman enters menopause, she no longer loses blood every month, which means she no longer loses iron,” explains Dr. Michael Wenger, professor of psychology at OU College of Arts and Sciences and lead author of the study. The researchers wanted to find out whether iron deficiency disappears during menopause. Very few studies have been conducted on this topic to date. The research team measured iron levels in the blood, performed MRI scans to determine the amount of iron in the brain, and assessed cognitive performance measures. None of the women in the study were iron deficient, but some were significantly below the recommended level for their age. The women whose iron levels in their blood were below the expected level performed worse on tests of memory, attention, and cognitive abilities.

“Our previous research has shown that iron deficiency causes significant cognitive impairment,” said Wenger. “If I gave a woman with iron deficiency a simple task where she had to press a button every time an asterisk appeared on a screen, the deficiency would cost her about 150 milliseconds. That doesn’t sound like much, but we make simple decisions like that when we choose every word in a sentence. Those 150 milliseconds add up.” According to the researchers, it is important to note that the amount of iron in the blood does not predict how much iron is deposited in a woman’s brain.

It has been known for some time that iron accumulation in the brain is a risk factor for the development of diseases such as Alzheimer’s and vascular dementia. These data were surprising and good news for the researchers, as it appears that having iron levels that are within or above the expected range for a given age does not mean that more iron is accumulating in the brain. Iron deficiency is not the same as anemia. Low iron levels are a risk factor for anemia, but people can become anemic for other reasons. However, women who visit their gynecologist are not usually tested for iron deficiency, which could be a missed opportunity.

Easing the Transition from Premenopause to Postmenopause

Low iron levels could easily be one of the reasons why women suffer from brain fog during menopause. This could also be the reason why some women complain of vision problems during menopause. Iron is an important component for the synthesis of the neurotransmitter dopamine, and the eye relies on dopamine for basic signal transmission when it first comes into contact with light. Although taking iron supplements is not usually the best course of action as they cause significant gastrointestinal side effects, a low dose may be effective, according to Wenger, as may switching to a diet rich in iron-containing foods. These small changes could make the transition from premenopause to postmenopause easier for women. Since part of the study was conducted during the COVID-19 pandemic, the number of participants was not as high as the research team would have liked. They plan to apply for funding for a larger study.