Genetic Influences on Testosterone and PTSD

Females are twice as likely to experience PTSD as compared to males. Although sex differences in prevalence are well-established, little is known about why such sex differences occur. Biological factors that vary with sex, including sex hormone production, may contribute to these differences. Considerable evidence links sex hormones, such as testosterone, to PTSD risk though less is known about the shared genetic underpinnings. The objective of the present study was to test for genetic relationships between testosterone and PTSD. To do so, we used summary statistics from large, publicly available genetic consortia to conduct linkage disequilibrium score regression to estimate the genetic correlations between PTSD and testosterone in males and females, and two-sample, bi-directional Mendelian randomization to examine potential causal relationships of testosterone on PTSD and the reverse. Heritability estimates of testosterone were significantly higher in males (0.17, SE = 0.02) than females (0.11, SE = 0.01; z = 2.46, p = 00.01). The correlation between testosterone and PTSD was negative in males (r = -0.11, SE = 0.02, p = 6.7 x 10-6), but not significant in females (r = 0.002, SE = 0.03, p = 0.95). MR analyses found no evidence of a causal effect of testosterone on PTSD or the reverse. Findings are consistent with phenotypic literature suggesting a relationship between testosterone and PTSD that may be sex-specific. This work provides early evidence of a relationship between testosterone and PTSD genotypically and suggests an avenue for future research that will enable a better understanding of disparities in PTSD.