(Beth Levine/ Everday Health) — In a cohort study involving 2100 women who have had their uteruses removed (ovaries were left intact), researchers have found an association between the hysterectomies and an increased long-term risk of mental health issues, such as anxiety and depression.
Using data from the Rochester Epidemiology Project, a collaboration of healthcare facilities in Minnesota and Wisconsin, the study, published online, on August 30, 2019, in Menopause: The Journal of the North American Menopause Society, reviewed health records of study participants from 1980 to 2002. Women who had diagnoses of depression or anxiety prior to undergoing hysterectomies were not included in the analysis for new-onset depression or anxiety.
A hysterectomy is a surgical operation to remove the uterus, or womb, the organ located in a woman’s pelvis that is crucial for reproduction.
The investigated women showed an absolute risk increase of 6.6 percent for depression and 4.7 percent for anxiety. For women who had hysterectomies between ages 18 and 35, the risk of depression was higher, with absolute risk increase of 12 percent. (…)