What this means
Sex hormones influence brain circuits that regulate mood, but previous studies in men have focused on few hormones and treated depression as a single condition. In a nationally representative sample of men, we systematically examine 12 serum sex hormones across the adult lifespan in relation to dimensional depressive symptoms.
A plain-English summary is on its way. Until then, this is the start of the authors' own summary.
- Who it was tested in
- Not stated
- Kind of research
- A study
The science
- Original title
- Age-specific associations of estrone sulfate, DHEAS, and anti-Müllerian hormone with depressive symptom dimensions in men.
- Authors
- Duan X, Jing D, Situ M et al.
- Journal
- Psychiatry research
- Published
- Oct 23, 2026
- Study type
- Study
- PMID
- 42914596 ↗
Abstract
Background
Sex hormones influence brain circuits that regulate mood, but previous studies in men have focused on few hormones and treated depression as a single condition. In a nationally representative sample of men, we systematically examine 12 serum sex hormones across the adult lifespan in relation to dimensional depressive symptoms.
What they did
We analyzed cross-sectional data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (2017-2023). Serum sex hormones were measured, and depressive symptoms were assessed by PHQ-9, with a score ≥5 indicating mild or greater symptoms. Survey-weighted regression models examined associations between hormones and depressive symptoms, total scores, somatic/non-somatic subscales, and nine individual symptoms.
What they found
Among 5668 men (mean age 51.1 years), 1344 (23.7%) had depressive symptoms. Higher anti-Müllerian hormone (AMH, OR=0.86), dehydroepiandrosterone sulfate (DHEAS, OR=0.83), and estrone sulfate (ES1, OR=0.87) were associated with lower odds of depressive symptoms; higher luteinizing hormone (LH, OR=1.11) with increased odds. Age-stratified analyses showed ES1 was inversely associated with depressive symptoms in middle-aged and older men, DHEAS only in older men, and AMH in younger and middle-aged men. Dimensionally, ES1, AMH, and testosterone were associated with lower somatic symptom scores (β=-0.12, -0.16, and -0.17), while AMH was also associated with lower non-somatic scores (β=-0.23). AMH was inversely associated with concentration difficulties; FSH and LH with sleep disturbance. Sex hormones show distinct, age and symptom-dimension-specific associations with male depression, challenging unitary diagnostic approaches. These findings support hormone-informed subtyping of male depression and suggest clinical assessment should consider both age and symptom presentation.
The authors' abstract, grouped under plain headings from its own section labels.
Duan X, Jing D, Situ M et al. Age-specific associations of estrone sulfate, DHEAS, and anti-Müllerian hormone with depressive symptom dimensions in men. Psychiatry research. 2026. doi:10.1016/j.psychres.2026.117540. PMID: 42914596. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/42914596/