Testosterone in Female Depression: A Meta-Analysis and Mendelian Randomization Study
Testosterone’s role in female depression is not well understood, with studies reporting conflicting results. Here, we use meta-analytical and Mendelian randomization techniques to determine whether serum testosterone levels differ between depressed and healthy women and whether such a relationship i...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2021-03-01
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| Series: | Biomolecules |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2218-273X/11/3/409 |
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| author | Dhruba Tara Maharjan Ali Alamdar Shah Syed Guan Ning Lin Weihai Ying |
| author_facet | Dhruba Tara Maharjan Ali Alamdar Shah Syed Guan Ning Lin Weihai Ying |
| author_sort | Dhruba Tara Maharjan |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Testosterone’s role in female depression is not well understood, with studies reporting conflicting results. Here, we use meta-analytical and Mendelian randomization techniques to determine whether serum testosterone levels differ between depressed and healthy women and whether such a relationship is casual. Our meta-analysis shows a significant association between absolute serum testosterone levels and female depression, which remains true for the premenopausal group while achieving borderline significance in the postmenopausal group. The results from our Mendelian randomization analysis failed to show any causal relationship between testosterone and depression. Our results show that women with depression do indeed display significantly different serum levels of testosterone. However, the directions of the effect of this relationship are conflicting and may be due to menopausal status. Since our Mendelian randomization analysis was insignificant, the difference in testosterone levels between healthy and depressed women is most likely a manifestation of the disease itself. Further studies could be carried out to leverage this newfound insight into better diagnostic capabilities culminating in early intervention in female depression. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-10T13:22:39Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-c582c473584d4b50b15982376fff7472 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2218-273X |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-10T13:22:39Z |
| publishDate | 2021-03-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Biomolecules |
| spelling | doaj.art-c582c473584d4b50b15982376fff74722023-11-21T09:56:24ZengMDPI AGBiomolecules2218-273X2021-03-0111340910.3390/biom11030409Testosterone in Female Depression: A Meta-Analysis and Mendelian Randomization StudyDhruba Tara Maharjan0Ali Alamdar Shah Syed1Guan Ning Lin2Weihai Ying3Med-X Research Institute and School of Biomedical Engineering, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai 200030, ChinaBio-X Institutes, Key Laboratory for the Genetics of Developmental and Neuropsychiatric Disorders (Ministry of Education), Shanghai Jiao Tong University, 1954 Huashan Road, Shanghai 200030, ChinaMed-X Research Institute and School of Biomedical Engineering, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai 200030, ChinaMed-X Research Institute and School of Biomedical Engineering, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai 200030, ChinaTestosterone’s role in female depression is not well understood, with studies reporting conflicting results. Here, we use meta-analytical and Mendelian randomization techniques to determine whether serum testosterone levels differ between depressed and healthy women and whether such a relationship is casual. Our meta-analysis shows a significant association between absolute serum testosterone levels and female depression, which remains true for the premenopausal group while achieving borderline significance in the postmenopausal group. The results from our Mendelian randomization analysis failed to show any causal relationship between testosterone and depression. Our results show that women with depression do indeed display significantly different serum levels of testosterone. However, the directions of the effect of this relationship are conflicting and may be due to menopausal status. Since our Mendelian randomization analysis was insignificant, the difference in testosterone levels between healthy and depressed women is most likely a manifestation of the disease itself. Further studies could be carried out to leverage this newfound insight into better diagnostic capabilities culminating in early intervention in female depression.https://www.mdpi.com/2218-273X/11/3/409testosteronedepressionmeta-analysismendelian randomization |
| spellingShingle | Dhruba Tara Maharjan Ali Alamdar Shah Syed Guan Ning Lin Weihai Ying Testosterone in Female Depression: A Meta-Analysis and Mendelian Randomization Study Biomolecules testosterone depression meta-analysis mendelian randomization |
| title | Testosterone in Female Depression: A Meta-Analysis and Mendelian Randomization Study |
| title_full | Testosterone in Female Depression: A Meta-Analysis and Mendelian Randomization Study |
| title_fullStr | Testosterone in Female Depression: A Meta-Analysis and Mendelian Randomization Study |
| title_full_unstemmed | Testosterone in Female Depression: A Meta-Analysis and Mendelian Randomization Study |
| title_short | Testosterone in Female Depression: A Meta-Analysis and Mendelian Randomization Study |
| title_sort | testosterone in female depression a meta analysis and mendelian randomization study |
| topic | testosterone depression meta-analysis mendelian randomization |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2218-273X/11/3/409 |
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