Review, 2018
Do sex hormones cause mood disorders in women at certain times of the cycle?
Evidence suggests women with reproductive mood disorders like PMDD have abnormal sensitivity to normal hormone changes rather than abnormal hormone levels. Normal hormone fluctuations trigger mood problems in some women but not others.
What they did
This was a review of existing scientific evidence about how reproductive hormones relate to mood disorders including premenstrual dysphoric disorder, depression after childbirth, and depression during menopause.
What they found
Reproductive steroids regulate all the systems involved in mood disorders. Women with mood disorders linked to reproductive cycles show abnormal emotional responses to normal changes in reproductive steroids, rather than having abnormal hormone levels. This pattern occurs consistently across premenstrual dysphoric disorder, perinatal depression, and perimenopausal depression.
What it means for you
Women with reproductive mood disorders may have brains that respond unusually to normal hormone changes rather than problems with hormone production itself. A limitation is that this is a review synthesizing evidence across multiple types of mood disorders.
About the study
- Original title
- Is there a role for reproductive steroids in the etiology and treatment of affective disorders?
- Authors
- Rubinow DR, Schmidt PJ
- Journal
- Dialogues in clinical neuroscience
- Year
- 2018
- Study design
- Review
- What was tested
- Hormone treatment (reviewed evidence)
- Open access
- Yes
- Read the paper
- doi.org/10.31887/dcns.2018.20.3/drubinow
Topics
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