# Women's Laboratory


## Posts

- [Miscarriage leaves a mark on mental health too](https://womenslaboratory.com/miscarriage-and-mental-health/): 15 October is Pregnancy and Infant Loss Remembrance Day. Loss in early pregnancy often stays invisible, even though its effect on mental health can be large and long-lasting.
- [Your brain changes along with your cycle](https://womenslaboratory.com/brain-changes-with-your-cycle/): The menstrual cycle affects more than the uterus. As hormones shift across the month, so do the connections between brain networks, and even the volume of some brain regions.
- [Pregnancy remodels the brain](https://womenslaboratory.com/pregnancy-remodels-the-brain/): Pregnancy changes more than the body. Brain research shows that motherhood also begins in the structure of the brain, and these changes last for years.
- [Menopause is a transition for the brain, not just the ovaries](https://womenslaboratory.com/menopause-brain-transition/): Hot flushes, poor sleep, mood swings and distractibility have a common denominator: the brain. During menopause the brain goes through a transition, and afterwards it often finds a new balance.
- ["Brain fog" in menopause: real and usually temporary](https://womenslaboratory.com/brain-fog-in-menopause/): Forgetting words, finding it harder to concentrate, feeling like your head isn't your own? Research shows this is not your imagination, and that for many women it passes.
- [Why Alzheimer's disease affects women more often](https://womenslaboratory.com/alzheimers-and-women/): Almost two-thirds of Americans with Alzheimer's disease are women. For a long time this was explained by women's longer lives. Today researchers are asking: is that the whole answer?
- [Why women are twice as likely to have depression](https://womenslaboratory.com/why-women-twice-as-likely-depression/): Women are about twice as likely as men to develop depression, and the gap appears as early as adolescence. The answer is certainly not that "women are just more sensitive".
- [PMS or PMDD: when premenstrual symptoms become a disorder](https://womenslaboratory.com/pms-or-pmdd/): Most women notice changes before their period, but for some it becomes a week when life stops. This may be premenstrual dysphoric disorder, or PMDD, and it is treatable.
- [Migraine and hormones: why headaches strike before your period](https://womenslaboratory.com/migraine-and-hormones/): Migraine is one of the most disabling neurological diseases in the world. It affects women more often, and attacks are often linked to the cycle.
- [Insomnia: why women sleep worse](https://womenslaboratory.com/insomnia-why-women-sleep-worse/): Insomnia is more common in women than in men, and the gap widens with age. The good news: there is effective treatment without medication.
- [Hormonal contraception and mood](https://womenslaboratory.com/hormonal-contraception-and-mood/): Many women notice a change in mood after starting the contraceptive pill. Large Danish studies suggest this deserves to be taken seriously, but it is important to understand the numbers correctly.
- [Endometriosis: a disease that takes years to diagnose](https://womenslaboratory.com/endometriosis/): Endometriosis affects roughly one in ten women of reproductive age, yet it often takes many years to be diagnosed. The pain affects not only the body but also mental health.
- [PCOS and mood: more than a hormonal disorder](https://womenslaboratory.com/pcos-and-mood/): Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is usually associated with irregular periods and fertility. But research shows that it affects mood too.
- [Thyroid and mood: when fatigue isn't "just stress"](https://womenslaboratory.com/thyroid-and-mood/): Autoimmune inflammation of the thyroid, most often Hashimoto's thyroiditis, can be linked to depression and anxiety. It is worth knowing, because the symptoms are easily confused.
- [Postpartum depression: more common than we thought](https://womenslaboratory.com/postpartum-depression/): The time after giving birth is supposed to be happy, but for many women it is hard. Postpartum depression is common and treatable.
- ["Baby brain": real, but small](https://womenslaboratory.com/baby-brain/): Many pregnant women complain of absent-mindedness and forgetfulness. A meta-analysis shows that this is true, but the changes are small and stay within the normal range.
- [Night-time hot flushes and brain health](https://womenslaboratory.com/hot-flushes-and-the-brain/): Hot flushes are often seen as just an unpleasant symptom of menopause. A small but interesting study suggests that night-time hot flushes may be linked to the health of the brain's blood vessels.
- [Hormone therapy and dementia: why age matters](https://womenslaboratory.com/hormone-therapy-and-dementia/): Does hormone therapy protect the brain? One of the largest randomised trials showed that in older women it may even increase the risk of dementia.
- [Menopause and sleep: why you wake up at night](https://womenslaboratory.com/menopause-and-sleep/): Many women start sleeping badly in perimenopause. Long-term studies show that sleep problems become more common and are closely linked to hot flushes.
- [Stroke: the risk is even higher for women](https://womenslaboratory.com/stroke-and-women/): Stroke is often thought of as a man's disease, but over a lifetime it strikes about one woman in five.
- [Multiple sclerosis and pregnancy: what research shows](https://womenslaboratory.com/multiple-sclerosis-and-pregnancy/): Multiple sclerosis is often diagnosed in young women, so the question of pregnancy is very important. A large European study revealed an interesting pattern.
- [ADHD in women: why it so often goes unnoticed](https://womenslaboratory.com/adhd-in-women/): ADHD is often pictured as a disorder of restless boys. Experts stress that in girls and women it is often recognised too late, or not at all.
- [Autism in girls: the real ratio is different from what we thought](https://womenslaboratory.com/autism-in-girls/): For a long time autism was thought to be four times more common in boys. A large meta-analysis suggests that the real gap may be smaller.
- [Anxiety: almost twice as common in women](https://womenslaboratory.com/anxiety-in-women/): Anxiety disorders are among the most common mental health conditions in the world. In women they occur almost twice as often as in men.
- [Post-traumatic stress: why the risk is higher for women](https://womenslaboratory.com/ptsd-in-women/): Not every trauma leads to post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). But one of the most consistent findings in science is that women develop PTSD more often than men.
- [Pain and sex: why pain science was "male"](https://womenslaboratory.com/pain-and-sex-differences/): Most people living with chronic pain are women. Yet for a long time pain was studied in laboratories almost exclusively in males.
- [Pre-eclampsia and brain health later in life](https://womenslaboratory.com/pre-eclampsia-and-the-brain/): Pre-eclampsia is a pregnancy complication in which blood pressure rises. A large Danish study suggests it may be linked to a higher risk of dementia many years later.
- [Exercise as medicine for depression](https://womenslaboratory.com/exercise-and-depression/): Does exercise really help with depression? A large 2024 meta-analysis shows that it does, and even identifies which activities help most.
- [Food and mood: what the SMILES trial showed](https://womenslaboratory.com/food-and-mood/): Can what we eat affect depression? The first randomised trial of its kind showed that improving diet can help.
- [Iron and fatigue: low ferritin without anaemia](https://womenslaboratory.com/iron-and-fatigue/): Menstruating women often have low iron stores, even when their haemoglobin is normal. A randomised trial suggests this may be a cause of unexplained fatigue.
- [Preventing dementia: 14 things we can change](https://womenslaboratory.com/dementia-prevention/): Dementia is not just a consequence of age or genes. An international expert commission estimated that almost half of cases could, in theory, be prevented.


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