Depression is more common in women than in men and is known to be mediated by serotonin receptor levels [43,63]. Specifically, depression is linked to decreased density of serotonin receptors and decreased efficacy of serotonin in the brain. The increased risk, timing of onset, and effectiveness of treatment of depression in women may be mediated by estrogen's effect on serotonin recep- tors. The onset of depression in women is a characteristic of times when estrogen levels are relatively low (in early pregnancy, postpartum, and around and following meno- pause) or low in comparison to progesterone (the luteal phase of the menstrual cycle) [64,65]. In women with depression around or following menopause, the.
