SynthesisBiomolecules2021
Testosterone in Female Depression: A Meta-Analysis and Mendelian Randomization Study.
Synthesis in Biomolecules, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 14 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
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Who cites it
14 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 30 citations in OpenAlex.
- Relationship between esophageal squamous cell carcinoma risk and alcohol-related ALDH2 and ADH1B polymorphisms: Evidence from a meta-analysis and Mendelian randomization analysis.Cancer medicine · 2023Pooled it
- Applications of Mendelian randomization in psychiatry: a comprehensive systematic review.Psychiatric genetics · 2022Pooled it
- Association between combined oral contraceptive pills and depression in women with polyendocrine metabolic ovarian syndrome (formerly polycystic ovary syndrome): a comparative cross-sectional study.BMC women's health · 2026Article
- Association of maternal smoking during pregnancy with youth depression and subsequent adult chronic diseases in offspring.Translational psychiatry · 2026Article
- Treadmill exercise alleviates depression in female mice induced by chronic unpredictable mild stress through the Inhibition of cGAS-STING signalling.Scientific reports · 2025Article
- High testosterone levels associated with elevated suicidal risk in male adolescents with depression.BMC psychiatry · 2025Article
- Exploring the shared genetic architecture between testosterone traits and major depressive disorder.BMC psychiatry · 2025Article
- Depression, higher level of tension induction, and impaired coping strategies in response to stress in women with PCOS correlate with clinical and laboratory indices of hyperandrogenism and not with central obesity and insulin resistance.Archives of women's mental health · 2025Article
- Within-person associations of cortisol, dehydroepiandrosterone, and testosterone hair hormone concentrations and psychological distress in pregnant and non-pregnant women.Comprehensive psychoneuroendocrinology · 2023Article
- Predictive genomic tools in disease stratification and targeted prevention: a recent update in personalized therapy advancements.The EPMA journal · 2022Review
- Causal Effect of Age at Menarche on the Risk for Depression: Results From a Two-Sample Multivariable Mendelian Randomization Study.Frontiers in genetics · 2022Article
- Oncofertility in pediatric patients: current perspectives.Contemporary oncology (Poznan, Poland) · 2022Review
- Combined repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation and medication treatment for depression is associated with serum amyloid a level: Evidence from naturalistic clinical practice.Frontiers in neuroscience · 2022Article
- Research progress on rheumatoid arthritis-associated depression.Frontiers in behavioral neuroscience · 2022Review
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
4 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
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.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.