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Changes in BMI modulate age-associated changes in sex hormone binding globulin and total testosterone, but not bioavailable testosterone in young adult men: the CARDIA Male Hormone Study

International Journal of Obesity volume 31, pages 685–691 (2007)Cite this article

Abstract

Objectives:

To compare age-associated 8-year changes in total testosterone, calculated bioavailable testosterone and sex hormone binding globulin (SHBG) across five groups of men stratified according to change in body mass index (BMI) (i.e., BMI stable (±0.69 kg/m2), decreased (−0.7 kg/m2), increased minimally (0.7–1.74 kg/m2), increased moderately (1.75–3.19 kg/m2) and increased most (⩾3.20 kg/m2)).

Design:

Eight-year longitudinal cohort study.

Subjects:

Four hundred and seventy-four black and 695 white men, aged 24–31 years at the time of the first hormone measurement.

Measurements:

Aging-related changes in serum SHBG, total testosterone and bioavailable testosterone.

Results:

SHBG significantly increased with age for men whose BMI decreased, and there were progressively smaller increases for men whose BMI was stable, or whose BMI increased minimally or moderately (range 1.1–0.3 nM per year, P⩽0.03, respectively). There was no age relationship with SHBG among men whose BMI increased most. Total testosterone did not change with age for men whose BMI decreased, was stable or increased minimally, but for men whose BMI increased moderately and most there was a graded decrease in total testosterone with age (β=−0.2 and −0.4 nM per year, respectively, P⩽0.005). However, bioavailable testosterone decreased with age to a similar extent across all groups.

Conclusions:

These results suggest that changes in BMI during young adulthood modulate age-related changes in SHBG and total testosterone, but not bioavailable testosterone.

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Acknowledgements

This research was supported by US Public Health Service Grant R01-CA770403 from the National Cancer Institute, and PHS contracts N01-HC-48047, N01-HC-48048, N01-HC-48049, N01-HC-48050 and N01-HC-95095 from the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute. All hormone measurements were conducted in the laboratory of the late Dr Christopher Longcope at the University of Massachusetts, Worcester. We had full access to all of the data in the study and take responsibility for the integrity of the data and the accuracy of the data analysis.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Preventive Medicine, Feinberg School of Medicine, Northwestern University, Chicago, IL, USA

    S M Gapstur, B C-H Chiu, L A Colangelo & K Liu

  2. The Robert H Lurie Comprehensive Cancer Center, Chicago, IL, USA

    S M Gapstur, P Kopp & B C-H Chiu

  3. Department of Medicine, Division of Endocrinology, Metabolism and Molecular Medicine, Feinberg School of Medicine, Northwestern University, Chicago, IL, USA

    P Kopp

  4. Department of Pathology, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, IL, USA

    P H Gann

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  1. S M Gapstur
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  2. P Kopp
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  3. P H Gann
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  4. B C-H Chiu
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  5. L A Colangelo
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  6. K Liu
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Correspondence to S M Gapstur.

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Gapstur, S., Kopp, P., Gann, P. et al. Changes in BMI modulate age-associated changes in sex hormone binding globulin and total testosterone, but not bioavailable testosterone in young adult men: the CARDIA Male Hormone Study. Int J Obes 31, 685–691 (2007). https://doi.org/10.1038/sj.ijo.0803465

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