Low Testosterone and Depression

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Low Testosterone and Depression

(http://www.endfatigue-dev.com/health_articles_d-e/Depresion-low_testosterone.ht\

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The study, which appears in the March 2008 issue of the Archives of General

Psychiatry, shows that older men with abnormally low free testosterone levels

are 271% more likely to display clinically significant signs of depression

than men with higher testosterone levels.

Lead author Dr. Osvaldo P. Almeida, MD, PhD, director of research at the

Western Australian Centre for Health and Ageing, and professor and chair of

Geriatric Psychiatry, School of Psychiatry and Clinical Neurosciences, at the

University of Western Australia, in Perth, notes that. " Older men with

depression should be assessed for hypogonadism, and older hypogonadal men who

fail to

respond to standard antidepressant therapy may benefit from testosterone

replacement. "

The study looked at 3,987 men aged 71 to 89 years who live in Perth,

Australia. The men were screened for cognitive impairment and depression, and

203

(5.1%) had a score within the depression range (scores of 7 or more). Compared

with men in the highest 20%, the odds of having depression in men in the

lowest 20% for total testosterone were almost doubled. This change could be

accounted for by other health problems, but when they looked at the more

reliable

" free testosterone " blood test , the researchers found that even after

eliminating the effects of other health issues, the low testosterone itself was

associated with a 270% higher risk of depression.

According to Dr. Almeida, " The findings of this study are compelling in

suggesting a causal relationship between low free testosterone and depression

in

older men… The association is biologically plausible; there is evidence from

lab work that testosterone may increase the bioavailability of serotonin and

noradrenaline in the brain and this could explain its antidepressogenic

effect. "

It is free testosterone, or testosterone that is not bound to the proteins

albumin and sex-hormone-binding globulin, that is biologically active (also

called " bioavailable " testosterone). " In other words, if we wish to clarify

what testosterone does, we need to look at free testosterone, " said Dr.

Almeida.

 

He noted, too, that while depression is more prevalent among women, the gap

between the sexes " all but disappears " later in life. " Our findings may

partly explain why that is so, " he said.

For more information on testosterone safety (optimizing levels using

Bio-Identical natural testosterone cream appears to have dramatic health

benefits—as

opposed to the high dose, artificial forms injected by some athletes),

testing and dosing see "

 

Reference:

Arch Gen Psychiatry. 2008;65:283-289. or

http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/571098