Effect of Depression on Serum Levels of Follicular Stimulating Hormone and Luteinizing Hormone in Male Population of Military Hospital, Rawalpindi

Background: Depression is a psychiatric illness that affects the overall life quality of an individual. In depression along with other symptoms, one of the features affecting the personal life of individuals is loss of libido which is influenced by the hypothalamic-pituitary-testicular axis. This study was aimed to determine the serum levels of Follicular stimulating hormone (FSH) and Luteinizing hormone (LH) in depressed male patients. Methodology: This comparative cross sectional study was done at Islamic International Medical College and Armed Forces Institute of Mental Health, Military Hospital Rawalpindi after being approved by ethical review committee. After informed consent, 96 male individuals having 18 – 60 years of age participated in the current study. Participants were segregated into groups A and B. Gender and age-matched healthy subjects in a quantity of 24 were taken in group A whereas group B consisted of 72 male depressed patients. Serum gonadotropins levels of both groups were compared by using an independent student t-test in SPSS 21. Results: Serum FSH (2.66 ± 0.34 mIU/ml) and LH (2.67 ±0.18 mIU/ml) levels of Group A have shown no significant difference as compared to serum FSH (3.32 ± 0.43 mIU/ml) and LH (3.12 ± 0.19 mIU/ml) levels of Group B. Conclusion: It is concluded from the study that serum FSH and LH levels were not significantly decreased in individuals with depression. Keywords: Depression, Follicle stimulating hormone, Luteinizing hormone