Anxiety and mood (대한불안의학회지)

Korean Academy of Anxiety Disorders (대한불안의학회)
권호 표지

Serum Testosterone Levels in Patients with Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder

외상 후 스트레스 장애 환자의 혈청 테스토스테론치

  • Kim, Dong Su (Department of Neuropsychiatry, Veterans Health Service Medical Center) ;
  • Kim, Hae Jung (Department of Neuropsychiatry, Veterans Health Service Medical Center) ;
  • Bang, Yu Jin (Department of Neuropsychiatry, Veterans Health Service Medical Center) ;
  • Go, Chang Min (Department of Neuropsychiatry, Veterans Health Service Medical Center) ;
  • Chung, Moon Yong (Department of Neuropsychiatry, Ansan Worker's Compensation General Hospital) ;
  • Kang, Suk Hoon (Department of Neuropsychiatry, Veterans Health Service Medical Center)
  • 김동수 (중앙보훈병원 정신건강의학과) ;
  • 김해정 (중앙보훈병원 정신건강의학과) ;
  • 방유진 (중앙보훈병원 정신건강의학과) ;
  • 고창민 (중앙보훈병원 정신건강의학과) ;
  • 정문용 (안산 산재병원 정신건강의학과) ;
  • 강석훈 (중앙보훈병원 정신건강의학과)
  • Received : 2013.08.30
  • Accepted : 2013.10.15
  • Published : 2013.10.31
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Abstract

Objective : Several reports have found abnormal levels of androgen in post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) patients. This abnormality in androgen is hypothesized to due to chronic psychological stress effects on the hypothalamic-pituitary-gonadal (HPG) system. The present study was conducted to estimate serum testosterone levels in PTSD patients in comparison with normal subjects. Methods : Seventy-five male Korean veterans of the Vietnam War volunteered for the study, of which eleven were excluded because of incomplete psychological assessment. To measure basal serum testosterone, blood samples were collected between 8.00 and 9.30 a.m. The clinician administered PTSD scale (CAPS), the structured clinical interview for DSM-IV (SCID), Hamilton Anxiety Rating Scale (HAM-A), Hamilton Rating Scale for Depression (HAM-D), Mini International Neuropsychiatric Interview Plus (Korean version of MINI-Plus), CES-K (Korean version of combat exposure scale). Results : The serum testosterone level of PTSD patients ($5.4{\pm}2.5ng/mL$) was higher than that of a control group ($3.1{\pm}1.7ng/mL$, p<0.001). Testosterone levels were significantly correlated with CAPS (r=.38, p<.01), HAM-A (r=.35, p<.01) and HAM-D (r=.28, p<.01) in all subjects. Conclusion : The results of the present study suggest that chronic psychological stress affects the HPG system.

Keywords

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