Grant: Op. Gr.: BHCIA: Knowledge Synthesis and Mobilization Grants-Lifestyle Approaches

Menopause and perimenopause are female-unique events that negatively impact the brain and increase the risk of dementia for women. About 2/3rds of those living with dementia are women and this is in part due to menopause and perimenopause detrimental contributions to brain health. For example, research shows that many women undergoing perimenopause show declines in their thinking abilities and memory, and these declines last during the 5 to 8 years after the onset of menopause. Thus, perimenopausal and postmenopausal women need strategies to protect their brains. Engaging in exercise is a promising strategy to protect the brain and improve how an individual thinks and remembers and may be even more beneficial for women during the menopause transition. We will search the literature to review what we know and what we don't know yet about what types of exercise are best at improving brain health in women and how these beneficial effects are occurring. Then we will co-create with our advisory group composed of perimenopausal and postmenopausal women, a document to pictorially depict the information we gather from our review about exercise and brain health during menopause. This document will be shared with the community. We will also share our results during a free evening event open to the general public. Our hope is that by sharing how exercise is an effective strategy to protect women's brain health, we will encourage those undergoing perimenopause and menopause to utilize this cost-effective lifestyle approach to reduce their risk of cognitive decline and dementia.