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An exploration of testosterone levels in patients with bipolar disorder

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 January 2018

Sarah C. Wooderson ,
Peter Gallagher ,
Stuart Watson  and
Allan H. Young
Sarah C. Wooderson
Affiliation:
Centre for Affective Disorders, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience (IoPPN), King's College London, UK
Peter Gallagher
Affiliation:
Institute of Neuroscience (Academic Psychiatry), Newcastle University, Newcastle, UK
Stuart Watson
Affiliation:
Institute of Neuroscience, Newcastle University, Newcastle, UK
Allan H. Young*
Affiliation:
Centre for Affective Disorders, IoPPN, King's College London, UK
*
Allan H. Young, Centre for Affective Disorders, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience, King's College London, PO72 De Crespigny Park, London SE5 8AF, UK. Email: allan.young@kcl.ac.uk
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Abstract

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Background

Testosterone influences well-being, mood and cognition and may play a role in the pathophysiology of bipolar disorder.

Aim

To examine testosterone levels in patients with bipolar disorder compared with healthy controls.

Method

We examined baseline total testosterone levels and current depression scores in male and female patients with bipolar disorder and mild to moderate depression and healthy controls.

Results

A significant interaction between diagnosis and gender was observed (F(2,97)=9.791, P=0.002). Testosterone levels were significantly lower for male patients with bipolar disorder compared with male controls (P=0.001). Women with bipolar disorder had significantly higher testosterone levels than female controls (P=0.03).

Conclusions

Disturbances in testosterone levels may represent an important neurobiological abnormality in bipolar disorder and may differ by gender. If these findings are confirmed, the use of gender appropriate treatment strategies for the normalisation of testosterone levels in bipolar disorder depression should be further explored.

Type
Research Article
Information
BJPsych Open , Volume 1 , Issue 2 , October 2015 , pp. 136 - 138
Creative Commons
Creative Common License - CCCreative Common License - BYCreative Common License - NCCreative Common License - ND
This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Non-Commercial, No Derivatives (CC BY-NC-ND) licence (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/).
Copyright
Copyright © The Royal College of Psychiatrists 2015

Footnotes

Declaration of interest

None.

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