Evidence map›Paper›PMID 36938850›Full record

ArticleAlzheimer's & dementia : the journal of the Alzheimer's Association2023

Among men, androgens are associated with a decrease in Alzheimer's disease risk.

Cynthia D J Kusters, Kimberly C Paul, Tahmineh Romero, Janet S Sinsheimer, Beate R Ritz

Open access · bronzeAbstract read
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Article in Alzheimer's & dementia : the journal of the Alzheimer's Association, 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 9 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
9citing papers in PubMed, 1 pooled it
1.6field-weighted citation impact, top 16% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

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.

2 · The registry

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.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

9 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 8 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Pooled it
  2. Reproductive neuroendocrine pathways as modulators of sleep-related sex differences in Alzheimer's disease.Alzheimer's & dementia : the journal of the Alzheimer's Association · 2026
    Article
  3. Review
  4. Review
  5. Review
  6. Article
  7. Neurology of Androgens and Androgenic Supplements.Current neurology and neuroscience reports · 2025
    Review
  8. Review
  9. Review
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

5 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.

Cynthia D J KustersDepartment of Human Genetics, David Geffen School of Medicine, Los Angeles, California, USA.
Kimberly C PaulDepartment of Neurology, David Geffen School of Medicine, Los Angeles, California, USA.
Tahmineh RomeroStatistics Core, David Geffen School of Medicine, University of California, Los Angeles, California, USA.
Janet S SinsheimerDepartment of Human Genetics, David Geffen School of Medicine, Los Angeles, California, USA.
Beate R RitzDepartment of Neurology, David Geffen School of Medicine, Los Angeles, California, USA.
University of California, Los Angeles · US

Funding

Microbiome, Pesticides and Parkinsons in LatinosR01ES031106 · NIEHS · UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA LOS ANGELES · PI RITZ, BEATE R. · 2020 to 2025
$3.8M
Validation and optimization of epigenetic clocksU01AG060908 · NIA · UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA LOS ANGELES · PI RITZ, BEATE R. · 2018 to 2022
$3.4M
Immune System Aging in Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s disease: Epigenetics, biologic aging, and heightened immune states in a population-based studyK01AG072044 · NIA · UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA LOS ANGELES · PI PAUL, KIMBERLY · 2021 to 2025
$717k
Sex Hormones, Aging, Alzheimer's Disease and Other Neurodegenerative Diseases in WomenF32AG063442 · NIA · UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA LOS ANGELES · PI KUSTERS, CYNTHIA DIANA JOHANNA · 2019 to 2021
$236k
NIA NIH HHS F32 AG063442NIA NIH HHS K01 AG072044NIA NIH HHS L30 AG074411NIA NIH HHS U01 AG060908NIEHS NIH HHS R01 ES031106
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

introductionIncreased levels of sex hormones have been hypothesized to decrease Alzheimer's disease (AD) risk. We assessed the association between sex steroid hormones with AD using a Mendelian randomization (MR) approach.

methodsAn inverse-variance weighting (IVW) MR analysis was performed using effect estimates from external genome-wide association study (GWAS) summary statistics. We included independent variants (linkage disequilibrium R

resultsAn increase in androgens was associated with a decreased AD risk among men: testosterone (odds ratio [OR]: 0.53; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.32-0.88; p-value: 0.01; false discovery rate [FDR] p-value: 0.03); dehydroepiandrosterone sulfate (DHEAS; OR: 0.56; 95% CI: 0.38-0.85; p-value: 0.01; FDR p-value: 0.03); and androsterone sulfate (OR: 0.69; 95% CI: 0.46-1.02; p-value: 0.06; FDR p-value: 0.10). There was no association between sex steroid hormones and AD among women, although analysis for estradiol had limited statistical power. DISCUSSION: A higher concentration of androgens was associated with a decreased risk of AD among men of European ancestry, suggesting that androgens among men might be neuroprotective and could potentially prevent or delay an AD diagnosis. HIGHLIGHTS: Sex hormones are hypothesized to play a role in developing Alzheimer's disease (AD). The effect of sex hormones on AD was assessed using Mendelian randomization (MR) analysis. Among women, genetically determined effects of sex hormones were limited or null. Among men, a higher concentration of androgens decreased AD risk. This study suggests a causal relationship between androgens and AD among men.

Indexed as

Alzheimer DiseaseAndrogensFemaleGenome-Wide Association StudyGonadal Steroid HormonesHumansMaleMendelian Randomization AnalysisPolymorphism, Single NucleotideAndrogensGonadal Steroid HormonesAlzheimer's diseaseandrogensepidemiologygeneticsMendelian randomizationsex hormonessex stratified

Identifiers

PMID36938850
PMCPMC10509321
OpenAlexW4327897962

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceTDM
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

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.