The association between testosterone and depression in postmenopausal women: A systematic review of observational studies
Abstract
OBJECTIVE: The contribution of testosterone to depression in older women is uncertain. This review was conducted to investigate the association between endogenous testosterone blood concentrations and depression in postmenopausal women.
METHODS: We searched Ovid MEDLINE, EMBASE, PsycINFO, and Web of Science databases for observational studies with at least 100 community-dwelling participants. The results were categorised by study design, and the reporting of total, bioavailable and free testosterone findings is narrative.
RESULTS: The search strategy retrieved 28 articles for full-text review, of which eight met the criteria for inclusion; these described 6 cross-sectional and 2 longitudinal studies. Testosterone was measured by immunoassay in all of the included studies. No association was seen between total testosterone or free testosterone and depression in either the cross-sectional or the longitudinal studies. A significant association between bioavailable testosterone and incident depressive symptoms was limited to women at least 21 years postmenopause in one study. Most of the cross-sectional studies were not representative of national populations and lacked random selection.
CONCLUSIONS: This systematic review does not support an association between testosterone and depression in postmenopausal women. However, as the included studies had substantial methodological limitations, studies of community-based samples, employing validated instruments for depression and…
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