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Frailty in Relation to Variations in Hormone Levels of the Hypothalamic-Pituitary-Testicular Axis in Older Men: Results From the European Male Aging Study.

Tajar, Abdelouahid ; O'Connell, Matthew D L ; Mitnitski, Arnold B ; O'Neill, Terence W ; Searle, Samuel D ; Huhtaniemi, Ilpo T ; Finn, Joseph D ; Bartfai, György ; Boonen, Steven and Casanueva, Felipe F , et al. (2011) In Journal of the American Geriatrics Society 59(5). p.814-821
Abstract
OBJECTIVES: To explore the associations between frailty and reproductive axis hormones (as an important regulatory system) in middle aged and older men. DESIGN: Cross-sectional. SETTING: The European Male Aging Study. PARTICIPANTS: Three thousand two hundred nineteen community-dwelling European men aged 40 to 79. MEASUREMENTS: Interviewer-assisted questionnaires to assess physical activity, health status, and mood were administered. Testosterone (T), luteinizing hormone (LH), follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH), dehydroepiandrosterone sulfate (DHEAS), and sex hormone-binding globulin (SHBG) were measured in a fasting morning blood sample. Frailty was assessed as an index (FI) according to the number (out of 43 possible) of health deficits... (More)
OBJECTIVES: To explore the associations between frailty and reproductive axis hormones (as an important regulatory system) in middle aged and older men. DESIGN: Cross-sectional. SETTING: The European Male Aging Study. PARTICIPANTS: Three thousand two hundred nineteen community-dwelling European men aged 40 to 79. MEASUREMENTS: Interviewer-assisted questionnaires to assess physical activity, health status, and mood were administered. Testosterone (T), luteinizing hormone (LH), follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH), dehydroepiandrosterone sulfate (DHEAS), and sex hormone-binding globulin (SHBG) were measured in a fasting morning blood sample. Frailty was assessed as an index (FI) according to the number (out of 43 possible) of health deficits (symptoms, signs, and functional impairments). Relationships between FI and hormone levels (as outcomes) were explored using regression models. RESULTS: Mean FI was 0.12 ± 0.11 (range 0-0.67) was highest in the oldest group. After adjustment for confounders, higher levels of FI were significantly associated with lower levels of total T, free T, and DHEAS and higher levels of gonadotropins and SHBG; a 1-standard deviation cross-sectional increase in FI was associated with a regression coefficient of -0.30 nmol/L (95% confidence interval (CI)=-0.53 to -0.07) decrease in total T and 0.66 U/L (95% CI=0.48-0.83) increase in LH. CONCLUSIONS: The associations between high FI, high gonadotropins, and well-maintained circulating T suggest that these changes are markers of aging-related disruptions of multiple physiological regulation, of which alterations in pituitary-testicular function represent a sensitive marker rather than an underlying pathogenic mechanism for frailty. (Less)
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organization
publishing date
type
Contribution to journal
publication status
published
subject
in
Journal of the American Geriatrics Society
volume
59
issue
5
pages
814 - 821
publisher
Wiley-Blackwell
external identifiers
  • wos:000290578700005
  • pmid:21568952
  • scopus:79956015440
ISSN
0002-8614
DOI
10.1111/j.1532-5415.2011.03398.x
language
English
LU publication?
yes
id
49205cd7-993c-42d0-946f-e9b1c7882e0f (old id 1972607)
alternative location
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21568952?dopt=Abstract
date added to LUP
2016-04-04 08:55:30
date last changed
2022-04-11 12:19:33
@article{49205cd7-993c-42d0-946f-e9b1c7882e0f,
  abstract     = {{OBJECTIVES: To explore the associations between frailty and reproductive axis hormones (as an important regulatory system) in middle aged and older men. DESIGN: Cross-sectional. SETTING: The European Male Aging Study. PARTICIPANTS: Three thousand two hundred nineteen community-dwelling European men aged 40 to 79. MEASUREMENTS: Interviewer-assisted questionnaires to assess physical activity, health status, and mood were administered. Testosterone (T), luteinizing hormone (LH), follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH), dehydroepiandrosterone sulfate (DHEAS), and sex hormone-binding globulin (SHBG) were measured in a fasting morning blood sample. Frailty was assessed as an index (FI) according to the number (out of 43 possible) of health deficits (symptoms, signs, and functional impairments). Relationships between FI and hormone levels (as outcomes) were explored using regression models. RESULTS: Mean FI was 0.12 ± 0.11 (range 0-0.67) was highest in the oldest group. After adjustment for confounders, higher levels of FI were significantly associated with lower levels of total T, free T, and DHEAS and higher levels of gonadotropins and SHBG; a 1-standard deviation cross-sectional increase in FI was associated with a regression coefficient of -0.30 nmol/L (95% confidence interval (CI)=-0.53 to -0.07) decrease in total T and 0.66 U/L (95% CI=0.48-0.83) increase in LH. CONCLUSIONS: The associations between high FI, high gonadotropins, and well-maintained circulating T suggest that these changes are markers of aging-related disruptions of multiple physiological regulation, of which alterations in pituitary-testicular function represent a sensitive marker rather than an underlying pathogenic mechanism for frailty.}},
  author       = {{Tajar, Abdelouahid and O'Connell, Matthew D L and Mitnitski, Arnold B and O'Neill, Terence W and Searle, Samuel D and Huhtaniemi, Ilpo T and Finn, Joseph D and Bartfai, György and Boonen, Steven and Casanueva, Felipe F and Forti, Gianni and Giwercman, Aleksander and Han, Thang S and Kula, Krzysztof and Labrie, Fernand and Lean, Michael E J and Pendleton, Neil and Punab, Margus and Silman, Alan J and Vanderschueren, Dirk and Rockwood, Kenneth and Wu, Frederick C W}},
  issn         = {{0002-8614}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  number       = {{5}},
  pages        = {{814--821}},
  publisher    = {{Wiley-Blackwell}},
  series       = {{Journal of the American Geriatrics Society}},
  title        = {{Frailty in Relation to Variations in Hormone Levels of the Hypothalamic-Pituitary-Testicular Axis in Older Men: Results From the European Male Aging Study.}},
  url          = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1532-5415.2011.03398.x}},
  doi          = {{10.1111/j.1532-5415.2011.03398.x}},
  volume       = {{59}},
  year         = {{2011}},
}