Sex differences in prolactin levels in emerging psychosis: Indication for enhanced stress reactivity in women

Erectile dysfunction in patients with first‐episode psychosis

“…In the current study, serum total testosterone levels were lower in FEP patients than control patients, which is consistent with the study conducted by Riecher‐Rossler et al. (2013) that found that men with psychoses who were antipsychotic‐free had lower testosterone levels than healthy controls, possibly because hyperprolactinemia suppresses the production of gonadal hormones (Ittig et al., 2017).…”

“…Recent studies have reported the development of hyperprolactinemia in patients with FEP before the use of antipsychotic therapy (Aston, Rechsteiner, Bull, Borgwardt, & Gschwandtner, 2010; Garcia‐Rizo et al., 2012; Kahn et al., 2008) and in patients with an at‐risk mental state for psychosis (Aston et al., 2010; Ittig et al., 2017). It has been shown that the increased pituitary volumes in FEP patients are due not only to increased adrenocorticotropic hormone production, but also to increased prolactin production (Pariante, 2008).…”

Clinical and functional correlates of financially deprived women with first‐episode psychosis

“…However, deprived women patients were twice as likely to have faced stressful life events, namely lawsuits and serious financial hardship, at 6 months prior to first‐episode illness. It suggests an important role of stress in the development of the illness (Ittig et al, ), not just in terms of symptoms, but also on the deterioration in functioning and cognitive abilities. This result is in line with a recent finding that stress affects female patients more than male patients who are developing psychosis (Ittig et al, ).…”

“…It suggests an important role of stress in the development of the illness (Ittig et al, ), not just in terms of symptoms, but also on the deterioration in functioning and cognitive abilities. This result is in line with a recent finding that stress affects female patients more than male patients who are developing psychosis (Ittig et al, ). It is also interesting to note that only 26% of the female patients in the financially deprived group have reported serious financial hardship prior to onset of illness.…”

Stress-Induced Hyperprolactinemia: Pathophysiology and Clinical Approach

“…Hyperprolactinemia is the most common pituitary hormone hypersecretion syndrome in both men and women [14]; it most commonly affects women aged 25–34 years old and male occurrence is 4 times less frequent [15]. Prevalence in the general population is approximately 0.4%, estimated to affect between 10 and 90 people per 100,000 [15, 16]. However, hyperprolactinemia is present in 15–20% of women presenting with menstrual disturbances [2].…”