Network analysis of comorbid aggressive behavior and testosterone among bipolar disorder patients: a cross-sectional study
Abstract
Testosterone has complex effects on psychological traits and behavior; it is associated with social dominance and competition and is a potential human sex pheromone. This study aimed to investigate the associations between testosterone levels, aggressive behavior, and manic symptoms using a network analysis among bipolar disorder (BD) patients in psychiatric emergency departments (PED). Data from January 2021 and March 2022 BD patients in PED were analyzed. Manic symptoms were assessed using the Young Mania Rating Scale (YMRS). Aggression was assessed with subscale of the PANSS scale (PANSS-AG). The undirected network structures of testosterone levels, aggressive behavior, and manic symptoms were estimated, and centrality and bridge centrality indices were examined. Network stability was examined using the case-dropping procedure. The Network Comparison Test (NCT) was conducted to evaluate whether network characteristics differed by gender. We recruited a total of 898 BD patients, with the mean YMRS score as 13.30 ± 9.58. The prevalence of level II aggression was 35.6% (95%CI = 32.5%–38.7%), level III aggression was 29.5% (95%CI = 26.3%–32.6%), and level VI aggression was 7.0% (95%CI = 5.4%–8.8%). The male participants had a mean testosterone level of 391.71 (Standard Deviation (SD):223.39) compared to 36.90 (SD:30.50) for female participants in the whole sample. Through network analysis, “Increased motor activity-energy” emerged as the central symptom, with the highest…
How strong is the evidence?
Evidence Hub reads this as a cross-sectional, done in people. Its evidence level is 4 of 5 (Low · observational). Observational designs can show an association but not prove cause. Reported size: 898 participants or records.
Read the paper
Related studies
- Chaos and quantum thermalization
- The Dalton quantum chemistry program system
- Cord Blood Leptin and Adiponectin as Predictors of Adiposity in Children at 3 Years of Age: A Prospective Cohort Study
- Quantitative metabolomics by H-NMR and LC-MS/MS confirms altered metabolic pathways in diabetes
- Stable adiabatic quantum batteries
- A novel self-lipid antigen targets human T cells against CD1c(+) leukemias
Go deeper in Evidence Hub
Evidence Hub adds a study data sheet (design, sample size, evidence level, key numbers), an AI summary and a chat grounded in the paper's text.