The role of sex and sex-related hormones in cognition, mood and well-being in older men and women
DOI: 10.1016/j.biopsycho.2014.08.015
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Summary
This study investigates the relationship between sex-related hormones and cognitive functioning, mood, and well-being in older adults, addressing a gap in research that has historically focused primarily on testosterone and estradiol. The authors aimed to determine if variations in other hormones—specifically follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH), luteinizing hormone (LH), prolactin (PRL), and dehydroepiandrosterone sulfate (DHEAS)—impact mental health profiles in aging men and women. The research utilized a cross-sectional design involving 120 community-dwelling participants aged 51 years and older (mean age 65.2), comprising 63 males and 57 post-menopausal females. Serum concentrations of total testosterone, estradiol, FSH, LH, PRL, and DHEAS were measured via chemiluminescent immunoassays. Participants underwent an extensive neurocognitive and psychological assessment, including tests for executive function (GENEXEC) and memory (MEM), as well as evaluations of depressive mood (Geriatric Depression Scale), sleep quality, nutritional status, and overall quality of life. Statistical analyses included principal component analysis to derive performance clusters and linear regressions adjusted for age and education to examine hormone associations. The results revealed distinct gender-specific associations. In males, higher PRL levels were significantly associated with worse cognitive performance, lower well-being scores, and higher depressive mood. Conversely, DHEAS levels were positively associated with both executive function and memory performance. Estradiol levels were significantly lower in males exhibiting higher depressive mood and poorer cognitive functioning. Multinomial logistic regression indicated that higher estradiol levels predicted membership in clusters with better cognitive and well-being profiles, while higher PRL predicted membership in clusters characterized by low cognition and high depressive mood. In females, the findings were less pronounced; education was the primary significant predictor for cognitive dimensions, with no significant hormone associations found for most measures after adjustment, although higher LH levels showed a trend toward predicting cluster membership. The study concludes that beyond testosterone and estradiol, variations in PRL, DHEAS, and other sex-related hormones play a significant role in the mental health aging profile, particularly in men. These findings suggest that PRL and DHEAS are relevant biomarkers for cognitive and mood outcomes in older males, highlighting the need for broader hormonal assessments in geriatric mental health research.
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| Stage | Outcome | Tool | Model | Prompt | Attempts | Completed |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| discover | success | OpenAlex-citations | — | — | 1 | 2026-06-24 |
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| tag | success | vector_similarity | — | — | 6 | 2026-06-25 |
| verify | success | — | — | — | 1 | 2026-06-26 |
Summary generated by qwen3.6-27b-prismaquant on 2026-06-26; verification: verified.
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