Testosterone and Depression

Abstract

Androgens have various effects on human body and mood. Testosterone, a hormone mainly secreted from testes and adrenals, is one of the most potent androgens. Multiple studies have found that testosterone plays a role in regulating sexual activity, libido, social behaviors, aggression, cognitive functions, sleep control and well-being in men and women. Testosterone deficiency in hypogonadic or elderly men leads to neuropsychiatric problems, such as fatigue, loss of libido, irritability, insomnia and depressive mood. Testosterone replacement therapy consistently reverses these sequel in men. On the other hand, hyperandrogenic states in women are related to aggression and antisocial behavior, which might lead to depressive mood. Low testosterone levels may also result in depression among oophorectomized women. Because of such effects, a relationship between testosterone and depression has long been an issue of speculation, but yet very few studies have addressed this relation. Along with clinical studies, experimental and epidemiological studies show that testosterone is related to depression in men and women. But studies of testosterone concentrations in depression have yielded inconsistent results reporting low as well as high testosterone levels associated with depression. In this article, the physiological and psychological effects of testosterone and evidence regarding its relationship to depressive disorders and possible gender differences have been reviewed.

Keywords

• Testosterone, Depression, Androgen, Gender

Testosteron ve Depresyon

Öz

Androjenler, insanda beden ve duygudurum üzerinde çok çeşitli etkilere sahiptir. Testis ve adrenallerden salgılanan testosteron insan bedenindeki en güçlü androjenlerden biridir. Testosteronun erkeklerde ve kadınlarda cinsel aktivite, libido, sosyal davranışlar, saldırganlık, bilişsel işlevler, uyku kontrolü ve iyilik halinin düzenlenmesinde rol oynadığı bilinmektedir. Hipogonadal ya da yaşlı erkeklerdeki testosteron yetmezliği yorgunluk, libido azalması, çabuk sinirlenme, uykusuzluk ve depresyon gibi nöropsikiyatrik problemlere yol açmaktadır. Testosteron yerine koyma tedavisi bu bozuklukları tutarlı bir şekilde tersine çevirmektedir. Bunun dışında yüksek testosteron düzeyleri de depresyona yol açabilmektedir. Kadınlarda aşırı androjen düzeyleri, depresif duygudurum, sinirlilik ve antisosyal davranışlarla ilişkilendiirlmiştir. Ooferektomi yapılmış kadınlardaki düşük testosteron düzeyleri de depresyona neden olabilir. Bu bildirimlerden dolayı testosteron ve depresyon arasında bir ilişki olabileceği uzun zamandan beri düşünülmekle birlikte şu ana kadar bu konuyu araştıran çok az sayıda çalışma yapılmıştır. Klinik çalışmalar gibi, deneysel ve epidemiyolojik çalışmalarda testosteronun erkek ve kadınlarda depresyonla ilişkili olduğunu göstermektedir. Fakat depresyonda testosteron konsantrasyonlarının araştırıldığı klinik çalışmalar çelişkili sonuçlar ortaya koymuş, hem düşük hem de yüksek testosteron düzeylerinin depresyonla ilişkili olduğu bulunmuştur. Bu makalede testosteronun fizyolojik ve psikolojik etkileri ve depresif bozukluklarla ilişkisi ve olası cinsiyet farklılıkları ele alınıp değerlendirilmiştir.

Anahtar Kelimeler

• Testosteron, Depresyon, Androjen, Cinsiyet

Kaynakça

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