David PerlmutterPresident,, Perlmutter Health Center · Board-Certified Neurologist | Functional Medicine Pioneer | #1 New York Times Best-Selling Author | International Speaker | Host of The Empowering Neurologist Podcast

Does Menopause Cause Anxiety?

9 Sept 2026 · 1 min

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In this brief commentary, David Perlmutter addresses the link between menopause and anxiety, noting that while a direct causal relationship is hard to prove, menopause is clearly associated with increased anxiety due to the major hormonal shifts that occur across pre‑, peri‑, and post‑menopause. He emphasizes that metabolism underlies both hormone production and hormone function. Maintaining metabolic health—specifically balanced blood sugar, good insulin sensitivity, and appropriate body weight—is presented as essential for supporting hormonal balance and potentially mitigating anxiety symptoms during and after menopause.

Chapters

Does menopause cause anxiety? Well, at least let's say menopause is associated with anxiety. It might be difficult to prove the exact relationship because here's what's going on pre-, perimenopause, and postmenopause. It's this major hormonal shift that we know about, and the underlying issue that needs attention is metabolism. Metabolism has a huge role to play in both the creation of hormones as well as their functionality. So keeping women metabolically intact as they approach during and after menopause is really fundamentally important. Keeping blood sugar balanced, keeping insulin sensitivity where it belongs, keeping body weight where it needs to be— these are, of course, metabolic issues that have a huge role to play in terms of hormone production and hormone functionality.