Midlife women's attributions about perceived memory changes: Observations from the Seattle Midlife Women's Health Study

Memory changes are of increasing interest as midlife women approach menopau se. Recent studies of relationships between estrogen and Alzheimer's diseas e have prompted interest in memory experiences around the time of menopause . The purpose of this analysis, part of the larger Seattle Midlife Women's Health Study (SMWHS), was to describe the types of memory changes women per ceived during midlife, to describe their attributions about the memory chan ges, and to describe the relationship among these types and attributions of memory changes and age, menopausal transition stage, hormone replacement t herapy (HRT) use, stress, and major life roles. Women (n = 230) with a mean age of 46.7 years, enrolled in the SMWHS, described whether they had notic ed any changes in their memory, when they noticed them first, the nature of the changes, and what they thought were the reasons for the changes. Types of memory changes were collapsed into five categories, which included diff iculty recalling words or numbers, forgetting related to everyday behavior, concentration problems, need for memory aids, and forgetting events. Six c ategories describing attributions about the memory changes were increased r ole burden and stress, getting older, physical health, menstrual cycle chan ges/hormones, inadequate concentration, and emotional factors. Stress, phys ical health, and aging as attributions, rather than the menstrual cycle or hormone use, were linked to most types of memory change.