Abstract
Objective
To review the literature on the impact of gonadal hormones on features of borderline personality disorder.
Background
Oestrogen flux and absolute sex hormone levels are known to be associated with various mood states in women. We investigated whether this was particularly relevant for borderline symptoms in women with or without borderline personality disorder (BPD).
Methods
Systematic literature review.
Discussion
There is some evidence that borderline symptoms are more severe during certain phases on the menstrual cycle in non-clinical samples of women. There is also a small evidence base that suggests that women with BPD show symptom exacerbation during the late luteal phase of their menstrual cycle.
Conclusion
More work is required to establish the nature and mechanisms of interactions between gonadal hormones and symptom expression in BPD patients, and therapeutic endeavours need stringent empirical testing.
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All authors contributed to the study conception and design. Material preparation, data collection and analysis were performed by Frank Osz, Catherine Muburi, Michelle Kilpatrick and David Castle. The first draft of the manuscript was written by Frank Osz and all authors commented on previous versions of the manuscript. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.
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Osz, F., Kilpatrick, M., Muburi, C. et al. Gonadal hormones in borderline personality disorder: implications for understanding symptoms and supporting treatment. Arch Womens Ment Health (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00737-023-01406-0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00737-023-01406-0