Menopause Across the Life-Course: Psychological Consequences of Natural, Surgical, Medical and Premature Hormonal Transitions

Menopause is a reproductive-endocrine event, not a chronological one. Although typically discussed as a midlife phenomenon, women experience natural, surgical, medical and premature menopause across the life-course. Oophorectomy for gynaecological cancer, hysterectomy, GnRH analogue treatment for endometriosis or adenomyosis, chemotherapy-induced ovarian failure, and premature ovarian insufficiency can produce abrupt hormonal change in women in their twenties and thirties. Conditions such as polycystic ovary syndrome shape the pre-menopausal endocrine trajectory and its psychological burden. Despite consistent evidence of elevated anxiety, depression, sleep disturbance, cognitive change and reduced quality of life, the psychological, behavioural and cognitive consequences of induced and condition-driven hormonal transitions remain markedly under-studied compared with natural menopause, and are poorly integrated into clinical care pathways.

This Research Topic aims to advance an integrated, life-course understanding of the psychological, cognitive and behavioural consequences of natural, surgical, medical and premature hormonal transitions in women, and of the gynaecological conditions that drive them, including endometriosis, adenomyosis, polycystic ovary syndrome and gynaecological cancers. This Research Topic seeks to reframe menopause-related mental health beyond the midlife narrative, recognising that iatrogenic and disease-driven hormonal change can affect women at any life-phase and produce distinct psychological trajectories. Recent advances in hormone replacement therapy, non-hormonal symptom management, digital health and artificial intelligence-enabled risk stratification offer new opportunities to personalise psychological and clinical care. However, the evidence base remains fragmented across gynaecology, oncology, psychiatry and psychology, with limited representation of women in low- and middle-income countries. This collection brings together interdisciplinary research integrating reproductive endocrinology, clinical psychology, behavioural science and women’s health to inform equitable, condition-aware and age-agnostic models of psychological care across the menopause spectrum.

This Research Topic welcomes submissions addressing the psychological, cognitive and behavioural dimensions of menopause and reproductive-endocrine transitions across the life-course. Themes of interest include:

• Natural perimenopause and post-menopausal mental health
• Surgical menopause following oophorectomy or hysterectomy, including cancer survivorship
• Medical menopause induced by GnRH analogues, chemotherapy or other treatments
• Premature ovarian insufficiency
• Psychological burden of endometriosis, adenomyosis and polycystic ovary syndrome
• Hormone replacement therapy and non-hormonal interventions and their psychological outcomes
• Menopause-related cognition and sleep
• Identity, body image and relational adjustment
• Cultural and low- and middle-income country perspectives on menopause experience
• Healthcare inequalities and access
• Digital health and AI-enabled care pathways

This topic welcomes original research, systematic reviews, meta-analyses, qualitative and mixed-methods studies, brief research reports, and perspectives.

Topic editor, Dr. Gayathri Delanerolle founded AuroraOX Biotech and AuroraOX Horizon. Topic editor, Prof. Nihal Al Riyami reports no competing interests related to this Research Topic.

Article types and fees

This Research Topic accepts the following article types, unless otherwise specified in the Research Topic description:

• Brief Research Report
• Case Report
• Classification
• Clinical Trial
• Community Case Study
• Conceptual Analysis
• Curriculum, Instruction, and Pedagogy
• Data Report
• Editorial
• ... View all formats

Articles that are accepted for publication by our external editors following rigorous peer review incur a publishing fee charged to Authors, institutions, or funders.

Article types

This Research Topic accepts the following article types, unless otherwise specified in the Research Topic description:

• Brief Research Report
• Case Report
• Classification
• Clinical Trial
• Community Case Study
• Conceptual Analysis
• Curriculum, Instruction, and Pedagogy
• Data Report
• Editorial
• FAIR² Data
• General Commentary
• Hypothesis and Theory
• Methods
• Mini Review
• Opinion
• Original Research
• Perspective
• Policy and Practice Reviews
• Policy Brief
• Registered Report
• Review
• Study Protocol
• Systematic Review
• Technology and Code

Keywords: menopause, surgical menopause, premature ovarian insufficiency, endometriosis, polycystic ovary syndrome, hormone replacement therapy, life-course, women’s mental health, reproductive psychology, cognition

Important note: All contributions to this Research Topic must be within the scope of the section and journal to which they are submitted, as defined in their mission statements. Frontiers reserves the right to guide an out-of-scope manuscript to a more suitable section or journal at any stage of peer review.