--- title: "Psych News Alert: Sex Hormones Linked With Risk of Committing Sexual Crimes, Study Finds" description: Elevated levels of the two sex hormones—luteinizing hormone (LH) and follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH)—predict recidivism among male sex of... image: https://alert.psychnews.org/hubfs/Imported_Blog_Media/handcuffed%20man_109783121-Jun-24-2025-04-47-52-9596-PM.jpg --- 1/28/13 12:00 AM # Sex Hormones Linked With Risk of Committing Sexual Crimes, Study Finds ![Picture of Psychiatric News Alert](https://alert.psychnews.org/hs-fs/hubfs/Psych%20News%20Email%20Banners/PN-Blue-Box_rgb.png?width=50&name=PN-Blue-Box_rgb.png) [ Psychiatric News Alert ](https://alert.psychnews.org/author/psychiatric-news-alert) Share: [facebook-f icon ](http://www.facebook.com/share.php?u=https://alert.psychnews.org/2013/01/sex-hormones-linked-with-risk-of.html) [linkedin-in icon ](http://www.linkedin.com/shareArticle?mini=true&url=https://alert.psychnews.org/2013/01/sex-hormones-linked-with-risk-of.html) [Twitter icon ](https://twitter.com/intent/tweet?url=https://alert.psychnews.org/2013/01/sex-hormones-linked-with-risk-of.html) [pinterest-p icon ](http://pinterest.com/pin/create/link/?url=https://alert.psychnews.org/2013/01/sex-hormones-linked-with-risk-of.html) [envelope icon ](mailto:?body=https://alert.psychnews.org/2013/01/sex-hormones-linked-with-risk-of.html) | [![](https://alert.psychnews.org/hs-fs/hubfs/Imported_Blog_Media/handcuffed%20man_109783121-Jun-24-2025-04-47-52-2682-PM.jpg?width=200&height=133&name=handcuffed%20man_109783121-Jun-24-2025-04-47-52-2682-PM.jpg)](https://alert.psychnews.org/hubfs/Imported_Blog_Media/handcuffed%20man_109783121-Jun-24-2025-04-47-51-1872-PM.jpg) | | | --- | --- | Elevated levels of the two sex hormones—luteinizing hormone (LH) and follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH)—predict recidivism among male sex offenders better than do elevated levels of the sex hormone testosterone, report John Bradford, M.D., one of Canada's leading sex-offender experts, and colleagues in the latest issue of the* Journal of the American Academy of Psychiatry and the Law. *LH and FSH, which are also referred to as gonadotrophic hormones, are made by the pituitary gland. LH stimulates the testes to produce testosterone. FSH stimulates the testes to make sperm. "This study is an important one, with a surprising finding that gonadotrophic hormones were better predictors of recidivism for sexual crimes than testosterone," Richard Krueger, M.D., an associate clinicial professor of psychiatry at Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons who has studied sexual offenders, said in an interview with* Psychiatric News. * However, it is doubtful that elevated levels of LH and FSH are alone responsible for sexual crimes, Bradford and colleagues pointed out in their report. So what other factors might contribute to such behavior? Perhaps hostility, the researchers suggested, since they found that hostility was associated with the impact of LH and FSH on recidivism. For information about research on sexual offenses including pedophilia, see *[Psychiatric News](http://psychnews.psychiatryonline.org/newsarticle.aspx?articleid=110011). * Psychological insights into sex offenders can be found in the American Psychiatric Publishing book* [Bad Men Do What Good Men Dream:](http://www.appi.org/SearchCenter/Pages/SearchDetail.aspx?ItemId=62294)* ** [A Forensic Psychiatrist Illuminates the Darker Side of Human Behavior](http://www.appi.org/SearchCenter/Pages/SearchDetail.aspx?ItemId=62294) and [Dangerous Sex Offenders: ](http://www.appi.org/SearchCenter/Pages/SearchDetail.aspx?ItemId=2280)[A Task Force Report of the American Psychiatric Association](http://www.appi.org/SearchCenter/Pages/SearchDetail.aspx?ItemId=2280). (Image: jinga/Shutterstock.com) [testosterone](https://alert.psychnews.org/tag/testosterone), [hostility](https://alert.psychnews.org/tag/hostility), [sex hormones](https://alert.psychnews.org/tag/sex-hormones), [sexual crimes](https://alert.psychnews.org/tag/sexual-crimes), [FSH](https://alert.psychnews.org/tag/fsh), [LH](https://alert.psychnews.org/tag/lh) ## Related posts [![](https://alert.psychnews.org/hs-fs/hubfs/Imported_Blog_Media/blue%20neurons_103628336-Jun-24-2025-03-22-54-5863-PM.jpg?height=200&name=blue%20neurons_103628336-Jun-24-2025-03-22-54-5863-PM.jpg) ](https://alert.psychnews.org/2012/09/could-ghrh-keep-seniors-mentally-sharp.html) [mild cognitive impairment](https://alert.psychnews.org/tag/mild-cognitive-impairment), [senior memory](https://alert.psychnews.org/tag/senior-memory), [growth hormone-releasing hormone](https://alert.psychnews.org/tag/growth-hormone-releasing-hormone) ## [Could GHRH Keep Seniors Mentally Sharp?](https://alert.psychnews.org/2012/09/could-ghrh-keep-seniors-mentally-sharp.html) ![Picture of Psychiatric News Alert](https://alert.psychnews.org/hs-fs/hubfs/Psych%20News%20Email%20Banners/PN-Blue-Box_rgb.png?width=50&name=PN-Blue-Box_rgb.png) [Psychiatric News Alert](https://alert.psychnews.org/author/psychiatric-news-alert) 6/24/24 11:16 AM Could injections of growth hormone-releasing hormone (GHRH) keep seniors sharp regardless of... [ Read more ](https://alert.psychnews.org/2012/09/could-ghrh-keep-seniors-mentally-sharp.html) [![](https://alert.psychnews.org/hs-fs/hubfs/Imported_Blog_Media/Older%20Woman%20Smiling_63000211-Jun-24-2025-05-28-06-9851-PM.jpg?height=200&name=Older%20Woman%20Smiling_63000211-Jun-24-2025-05-28-06-9851-PM.jpg) ](https://alert.psychnews.org/2012/10/ghrh-may-help-keep-seniors-mentally.html) [mild cognitive impairment](https://alert.psychnews.org/tag/mild-cognitive-impairment), [growth hormone-releasing hormone](https://alert.psychnews.org/tag/growth-hormone-releasing-hormone), [seniors' cognition and memory](https://alert.psychnews.org/tag/seniors-cognition-and-memory) ## [GHRH May Help Keep Seniors Mentally Sharp](https://alert.psychnews.org/2012/10/ghrh-may-help-keep-seniors-mentally.html) ![Picture of Psychiatric News Alert](https://alert.psychnews.org/hs-fs/hubfs/Psych%20News%20Email%20Banners/PN-Blue-Box_rgb.png?width=50&name=PN-Blue-Box_rgb.png) [Psychiatric News Alert](https://alert.psychnews.org/author/psychiatric-news-alert) 10/12/12 12:00 AM Could growth-hormone-releasing hormone (GHRH) injections keep seniors mentally sharp regardless of... [ Read more ](https://alert.psychnews.org/2012/10/ghrh-may-help-keep-seniors-mentally.html) [![](https://alert.psychnews.org/hs-fs/hubfs/Imported_Blog_Media/woman_calendar_iStock-1329333704.jpg?height=200&name=woman_calendar_iStock-1329333704.jpg) ](https://alert.psychnews.org/response-to-hormonal-suppression-hormonal-add-back-distinguishes-women-with-pmdd) [premenstrual dysphoric disorder](https://alert.psychnews.org/tag/premenstrual-dysphoric-disorder), [PMDD](https://alert.psychnews.org/tag/pmdd), [progesterone](https://alert.psychnews.org/tag/progesterone), [menstrual cycle](https://alert.psychnews.org/tag/menstrual-cycle), [estradiol](https://alert.psychnews.org/tag/estradiol), [leuprolide](https://alert.psychnews.org/tag/leuprolide), [mood swings](https://alert.psychnews.org/tag/mood-swings) ## [Response to Hormonal Suppression, Hormonal Add-Back Distinguishes Women With PMDD](https://alert.psychnews.org/response-to-hormonal-suppression-hormonal-add-back-distinguishes-women-with-pmdd) ![Picture of Psychiatric News Alert](https://alert.psychnews.org/hs-fs/hubfs/Psych%20News%20Email%20Banners/PN-Blue-Box_rgb.png?width=50&name=PN-Blue-Box_rgb.png) [Psychiatric News Alert](https://alert.psychnews.org/author/psychiatric-news-alert) 10/3/25 2:41 PM Women with pre-menstrual dysphoric disorder (PMDD) who received hormonal suppression with... [ Read more ](https://alert.psychnews.org/response-to-hormonal-suppression-hormonal-add-back-distinguishes-women-with-pmdd) ```json { "@context" : "https://schema.org", "@type" : "BlogPosting", "author" : { "@type" : "Person", "name" : "Psychiatric News Alert", "url" : "https://alert.psychnews.org/author/psychiatric-news-alert" }, "dateModified" : "2025-06-24T16:48:47.731Z", "datePublished" : "2013-01-28T05:00:00.000Z", "headline" : "Psych News Alert: Sex Hormones Linked With Risk of Committing Sexual Crimes, Study Finds", "image" : [ "https://alert.psychnews.org/hubfs/Imported_Blog_Media/handcuffed%20man_109783121-Jun-24-2025-04-47-52-9596-PM.jpg" ], "mainEntityOfPage" : { "@id" : "https://alert.psychnews.org/2013/01/sex-hormones-linked-with-risk-of.html", "@type" : "WebPage" }, "publisher" : { "@type" : "Organization", "logo" : { "@type" : "ImageObject", "url" : "https://alert.psychnews.org/hubfs/PN-Blue-Box.jpg" } } } ```