Yes, hormones can affect depression. In fact, one of the most important causes of depression can be hormonal changes. This can be proved with the fact that depression is more common among women who have reached the menopausal state or have given birth to a baby. These are the stages of a female’s life where there are massive changes taking place in hormones. Hormonal changes or hormonal imbalance is one of the major causes of depression. According to the studies, depression is more likely in women and when women give birth to a child and/or when she is at her menopausal stage, the chances are higher. These situations are such that there is lot of hormonal changes in the body. Apart from this it must be remembered that hormones affect the chemical balances in the brain. That’s the reason why serotonin and dopamine are associated with depression and anxiety. Even high level of cortisol can have connection with symptoms of stress and depression. Hormonal problems like thyroid can also give rise to symptoms like mood swings, depression, weight loss, weight gain, fatigue and nausea. Even patients of diabetes are prone to depression. Thus, depression due to hormonal imbalances or changes needs to be treated using hormone medications and therapies for effective results.