Multiple Factors Associated With Sex Hormone Variation in Men

WEDNESDAY, Aug. 30, 2023 (HealthDay News) -- Multiple factors, such as age and body mass index (BMI), are associated with sex hormone variation among men, according to a review published online Aug. 29 in the Annals of Internal Medicine.

Ross J. Marriott, Ph.D., from the University of Western Australia in Perth, and colleagues analyzed factors associated with variation in male sex hormone concentrations in a systematic literature review of individual participant data (IPD) from nine studies with 21,074 participants and aggregate data from two studies with 4,075 participants.

The researchers found that in two-stage random-effects IPD meta-analyses, there was a nonlinear association of testosterone with age, with negligible change for men aged 17 to 70 years, and testosterone levels decreased with age for men older than 70 years. An inverse association was seen for testosterone with BMI. Lower testosterone concentrations were seen for married men, those who undertook at most 75 minutes of vigorous physical activity per week, former smokers, and those with hypertension, cardiovascular disease, cancer, or diabetes. There was a direct association for sex hormone-binding globulin with age and an inverse association with BMI. In men older than 70 years, luteinizing hormone was directly associated with age.

"Interpretation of individual testosterone measurements should account particularly for age older than 70 years, higher BMI, and the presence of diabetes or cancer. Additional research is needed to determine mechanisms underlying the association of marriage with lower testosterone concentrations in middle-aged men," the authors write.

Several authors disclosed financial ties to industry.

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