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Taken from WWW.pubmed.gov (testosterone studies)
Arch Intern Med. 2007 Nov 12;167(20):2249-54.
Relationship between low levels of anabolic hormones and 6-year mortality in older men:
the aging in the Chianti Area (InCHIANTI) study.
Maggio M, Lauretani F, Ceda GP, Bandinelli S, Ling SM et al
National Institute on Aging, National Institutes of Health, NIA Clinical Research Branch at
Harbor Hospital, 3001 S Hanover Street, Baltimore, MD 21225, USA.
BACKGROUND: Aging in men is characterized by a progressive decline in levels of anabolic hormones,
such as testosterone, insulinlike growth factor 1 (IGF-1), and dehydroepiandrosterone sulfate (DHEA-S).
We hypothesized that in older men a parallel age-associated decline in bioavailable testosterone, IGF-1,
and DHEA-S secretion is associated with higher mortality independent of potential confounders.
METHODS: Testosterone, IGF-1, DHEA-S, and demographic features were evaluated in a representative sample
of 410 men 65 years and older enrolled in the Aging in the Chianti Area (InCHIANTI) study. A total of
126 men died during the 6-year follow-up. Thresholds for lowest-quartile definitions were 70 ng/dL (to
convert to nanomoles per liter, multiply by 0.0347) for bioavailable testosterone, 63.9 ng/mL (to convert
to nanomoles per liter, multiply by 0.131) for total IGF-1, and 50 microg/dL (to convert to micromoles
per liter, multiply by 0.027) for DHEA-S. Men were divided into 4 groups: no hormone in the lowest
quartile (reference) and 1, 2, and 3 hormones in the lowest quartiles. Kaplan-Meier survival and Cox
proportional hazards models adjusted for confounders were used in the analysis.
RESULTS: Compared with men with levels of all 3 hormones above the lowest quartiles, having 1, 2,
and 3 dysregulated hormones was associated with hazard ratios for mortality of 1.47 (95% confidence
interval [CI], 0.88-2.44), 1.85 (95% CI, 1.04-3.30), and 2.29 (95% CI, 1.12-4.68), respectively (test
for trend, P <.001). In the fully adjusted analysis, only men with 3 anabolic hormone deficiencies had
a significant increase in mortality (hazard ratio, 2.44; 95% CI, 1.09-5.46 (test for trend, P <.001).
CONCLUSIONS: Age-associated decline in anabolic hormone levels is a strong independent predictor of
mortality in older men. Having multiple hormonal deficiencies rather than a deficiency in a single
anabolic hormone is a robust biomarker of health status in older persons.
PMID: 17998499 [PubMed - in process]
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