Objective: Sociodemographic, lifestyle, and medical variables influence total testosterone (T) and sex hormone-binding globulin (SHBG) concentrations. The relationship between these factors and "free" T remains unclear. We examined 21 sociodemographic, lifestyle, and medical predictors influencing calculated free T (cFT) in community-dwelling men across ages.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFNon-surgical (reversible) male contraception methods, when approved for general clinical application, should be made available to all interested men aged 18 50 years in good general health regardless of their semen parameters. In the preliminary workup, a complete personal and family history aimed at identifying specific conditions that may potentially increase the risks for adverse effects (associated with testosterone replacement) is advisable but a general or andrological examination is not required, unless indicated by the history. Baseline body weight, blood pressure and haemoglobin should be recorded for the purpose of future monitoring.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFEmpirical evidence for a low normal or reference interval for serum prolactin (PRL) is lacking for men, while the implications of very low PRL levels for human health have never been studied. A clinical state of "PRL deficiency" has not been defined except in relation to lactation. Using data from the European Male Ageing Study (EMAS), we analyzed the distribution of PRL in 3,369 community-dwelling European men, aged 40-80 years at phase-1 and free from acute illnesses.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Whether circulating sex hormones modulate mortality and cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk in aging men is controversial.
Purpose: To clarify associations of sex hormones with these outcomes.
Data Sources: Systematic literature review to July 2019, with bridge searches to March 2024.
Backgrounds: Despite a wide spectrum of contraceptive methods for women, the unintended pregnancy rate remains high (45% in the US), with 50% resulting in abortion. Currently, 20% of global contraceptive use is male-directed, with a wide variation among countries due to limited availability and lack of efficacy. Worldwide studies indicate that >50% of men would opt to use a reversible method, and 90% of women would rely on their partner to use a contraceptive.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Various factors modulate circulating testosterone in men, affecting interpretation of testosterone measurements.
Purpose: To clarify factors associated with variations in sex hormone concentrations.
Data Sources: Systematic literature searches (to July 2019).
Background: Previous research suggests that sarcopenia is associated with lower cognitive functioning. Evidence on the longitudinal relationship between cognition and sarcopenia, according to the revised criteria of the European Working Group on Sarcopenia in Older People (EWGSOP2), is scarce. This study aimed to investigate both cross-sectional and longitudinal associations between sarcopenia and its defining parameters (muscle strength, muscle mass and physical performance) and cognitive performance in middle-aged and older men.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFObjective: Older men on an average have lower testosterone concentrations, compared with younger men, and more age-related comorbidities. Whether lower testosterone concentrations contribute to biological ageing remains unclear. Shorter telomeres are a marker for biological age.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFFront Endocrinol (Lausanne)
November 2022
Background: Insulin-like peptide 3 (INSL3) is a constitutive hormone secreted in men by the mature Leydig cells of the testes. It is an accurate biomarker for Leydig cell functional capacity, reflecting their total cell number and differentiation status.
Objectives: To determine the ability of INSL3 to predict hypogonadism and age-related morbidity using the EMAS cohort of older community-dwelling men.
Background: Aging in men is accompanied by a broad range of symptoms, including sexual dysfunction, cognitive and musculoskeletal decline, obesity, type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease and hypertension, organ degeneration/failure, and increasing neoplasia, some of which are associated with declining levels of Leydig cell-produced testosterone. High natural biological variance, together with multiple factors that can modulate circulating testosterone concentration, may influence its interpretation and clinical implications. Insulin-like peptide 3 is a biomarker of Leydig cell function that might provide complementary information on testicular health and its downstream outcomes.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFObjective: Men are at greater risk from COVID-19 than women. Older, overweight men, and those with type 2 diabetes, have lower testosterone concentrations and poorer COVID-19-related outcomes. We analysed the associations of premorbid serum testosterone concentrations, not confounded by the effects of acute SARS-CoV-2 infection, with COVID-19-related mortality risk in men.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBest Pract Res Clin Endocrinol Metab
July 2022
The diagnosis of functional hypogonadism should prompt a thorough assessment and optimization of general health, including lifestyle changes, weight reduction, care of comorbidities and cessation of offending medications, some of which can lead to meaningful gains in endogenous testosterone (T) concentrations. Having excluded or addressed reversible causes and contra-indications, patients with functional hypogonadism can be offered a trial of testosterone replacement therapy (TRT) after full discussion on the anticipated benefits and potential risks. T treatment improves libido but may be less effective for erectile dysfunction (ED).
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: erectile dysfunction is associated with mortality, whereas the association between low testosterone (T) and higher mortality remains controversial. Sexual dysfunction and low T often coexist, but the relative importance of sexual symptoms versus low T in predicting mortality is not known. We studied the interrelationships between sex steroids and sexual symptoms with all-cause mortality in a large prospective cohort of European men.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBest Pract Res Clin Endocrinol Metab
July 2022
This narrative review summarizes key points of the pathogenesis and diagnosis of the ageing-related decline of testosterone (T) in men. The condition is commonly termed late-onset hypogonadism (LOH), but because it is more often caused by other factors than chronological ageing (obesity and other comorbidities), a more appropriate term is functional hypogonadism (FH). Unlike the classical organic hypogonadism, no anatomical or genetic aberrations are found in FH, and the suppression of T is milder.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFIntroduction: The association of testosterone concentrations with dementia risk remains uncertain. We examined associations of serum testosterone and sex hormone-binding globulin (SHBG) with incidence of dementia and Alzheimer's disease.
Methods: Serum total testosterone and SHBG were measured by immunoassay.
Background: The influence of testosterone on risk for cardiovascular events in men is uncertain. Previous observational studies of sex hormones and incident cardiovascular disease in men have reported inconsistent findings, limited by cohort sizes and different selection criteria.
Objective: To analyze associations of serum total testosterone and sex hormone-binding globulin (SHBG) with incident cardiovascular events in men.
Objective: Testosterone and sex hormone-binding globulin (SHBG) concentrations are reported to decline during male ageing, but whether these changes reflect physiological ageing or age-related comorbidities remains uncertain. We examined longitudinal changes in serum testosterone and SHBG concentrations in middle-aged to older men, concordance between baseline and follow-up values and relationships with concomitant changes in lifestyle and medical factors.
Design: Population-based longitudinal cohort study.
Male hypogonadism (MH) is a common endocrine disorder. However, uncertainties and variations in its diagnosis and management exist. There are several current guidelines on testosterone replacement therapy that have been driven predominantly by single disciplines.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFContext: Low total 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25(OH)D) has been associated with mortality. Whether vitamin D in its free form or 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D (1,25(OH)2D), provide any additional information is unclear.
Objective: To determine what level of 25(OH)D is predictive for mortality and if free 25(OH)D or 1,25(OH) 2 D concentrations have any added value.
Background: Age-related chronic low-grade inflammation (inflammaging) is one of the proposed mechanisms behind sarcopenia. However, findings regarding inflammatory markers in sarcopenic older adults are conflicting. This study aimed to determine the association between inflammatory markers, prevalent as well as incident sarcopenia, sarcopenia-defining parameters, quality of life (QoL), and physical activity in middle-aged and older men.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Few data have looked at the occurrence and clinical correlates of self-reported shorter than desired ejaculation latency (rapid ejaculation, RE) and its related distress in the general population.
Aim: To determine the prevalence and clinical correlates of self-reported RE and RE- related distress in middle age and older European men.
Methods: Subjects were recruited from population samples of men aged 40-79 years across 8 European centers.
Context: Serum testosterone concentrations decline with age, while serum sex hormone-binding globulin (SHBG) concentrations increase.
Objective: To analyze associations of baseline serum testosterone and SHBG concentrations, and calculated free testosterone (cFT) values, with all-cause and cause-specific mortality in men.
Design, Setting, And Participants: The UK Biobank prospective cohort study of community-dwelling men aged 40-69 years old, followed for 11 years.
Objective: Serum testosterone concentrations are affected by factors unrelated to hypothalamo-pituitary-testicular axis pathology. We evaluated the impact of sociodemographic, lifestyle and medical factors, on serum testosterone and sex hormone-binding globulin (SHBG) in men aged 40-69 years.
Design: Cross-sectional analysis of 208,677 community-dwelling men from the UK Biobank.
Introduction: This study aims to clarify the role(s) of endogenous sex hormones to influence health outcomes in men, specifically to define the associations of plasma testosterone with incidence of cardiovascular events, cancer, dementia and mortality risk, and to identify factors predicting testosterone concentrations. Data will be accrued from at least three Australian, two European and four North American population-based cohorts involving approximately 20 000 men.
Methods And Analysis: Eligible studies include prospective cohort studies with baseline testosterone concentrations measured using mass spectrometry and 5 years of follow-up data on incident cardiovascular events, mortality, cancer diagnoses or deaths, new-onset dementia or decline in cognitive function recorded.
Global ageing poses a substantial economic burden on health and social care costs. Enabling a greater proportion of older people to stay healthy for longer is key to the future sustainability of health, social and economic policy. Frailty and associated decrease in resilience plays a central role in poor health in later life.
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