Evidence map›Paper›PMID 36418656›Full record

ReviewReviews in endocrine & metabolic disorders2022

The role of testosterone, the androgen receptor, and hypothalamic-pituitary-gonadal axis in depression in ageing Men.

Richard L Hauger, Ursula G Saelzler, Meghana S Pagadala, Matthew S Panizzon

Open access · hybridAbstract readReview
In one paragraph

Review in Reviews in endocrine & metabolic disorders, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 24 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
24citing papers in PubMed, 1 pooled it
6.8field-weighted citation impact, top 2% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

24 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 54 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Pooled it
  2. Review
  3. Review
  4. Do sex and gender matter in the pharmacological treatment of depression?Naunyn-Schmiedeberg's archives of pharmacology · 2026
    Review
  5. Review
  6. Article
  7. Effect of fermented red bean extract (Open veterinary journal · 2025
    Article
  8. Article
  9. Article
  10. Testosterone Concentration and Incident Depression in Older Men: A Longitudinal Cohort Study.The journals of gerontology. Series A, Biological sciences and medical sciences · 2025
    Article
  11. Review
  12. Article
  13. Review
  14. Article
  15. Article
  16. Review
  17. Review
  18. Article
  19. Review
  20. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

4 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.

Richard L HaugerCenter of Excellence for Stress and Mental Health (CESAMH), VA San Diego Healthcare System, San Diego, CA, USA. rhauger@health.ucsd.edu.ORCID 0000-0003-1509-1868
Ursula G SaelzlerCenter for Behavior Genetics of Aging, Department of Psychiatry, School of Medicine, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, CA, USA.
Meghana S PagadalaMedical Scientist Training Program, School of Medicine, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, CA, USA.
Matthew S PanizzonCenter of Excellence for Stress and Mental Health (CESAMH), VA San Diego Healthcare System, San Diego, CA, USA.
University of California San Diego · USUC San Diego Health System · US

Funding

The VETSA Longitudinal Twin Study of Cognition and Aging (VETSA 4)R01AG050595 · NIA · UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, SAN DIEGO · PI ELMAN, JEREMY A, FRANZ, CAROL ELAINE · 2015 to 2024
$28.0M
CSRD VA I01 CX001727NIA NIH HHS R01 AG050595
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Considerable research has shown that testosterone regulates many physiological systems, modulates clinical disorders, and contributes to health outcome. However, studies on the interaction of testosterone levels with depression and the antidepressant effect of testosterone replacement therapy in hypogonadal men with depression have been inconclusive. Current findings indicate that low circulating levels of total testosterone meeting stringent clinical criteria for hypogonadism and testosterone deficiency induced by androgen deprivation therapy are associated with increased risk for depression and current depressive symptoms. The benefits of testosterone replacement therapy in men with major depressive disorder and low testosterone levels in the clinically defined hypogonadal range remain uncertain and require further investigation. Important considerations going forward are that major depressive disorder is a heterogeneous phenotype with depressed individuals differing in inherited polygenic determinants, onset and clinical course, symptom complexes, and comorbidities that contribute to potential multifactorial differences in pathophysiology. Furthermore, polygenic mechanisms are likely to be critical to the biological heterogeneity that influences testosterone-depression interactions. A genetically informed precision medicine approach using genes regulating testosterone levels and androgen receptor sensitivity will likely be essential in gaining critical insight into the role of testosterone in depression.

Indexed as

AgingHypogonadismHypothalamic-Pituitary-Gonadal AxisMajor Depressive DisorderProstatic NeoplasmsAndrogen AntagonistsDepressionHumansMaleReceptors, AndrogenTestosteroneAndrogen AntagonistsReceptors, AndrogenTestosteroneAndrogen deprivation therapyAndrogen receptorDepressionHypogonadismMajor depressive disorderTestosteroneTestosterone replacement therapy

Identifiers

PMID36418656
PMCPMC9789012
OpenAlexW4309878831

What Socratic holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the Socratic graph.