Individual testosterone decline and future mortality risk in men. Issue 1 (January 2018)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Holmboe, Stine A; Skakkebæk, Niels E; Juul, Anders; Scheike, Thomas; Jensen, Tina K; Linneberg, Allan; Thuesen, Betina H; Andersson, Anna-Maria
• Is Part Of: European journal of endocrinology. Volume 178:Issue 1(2018)
• Page Start: 121
• Page End: 128
• Publication Date: 2018-01
• Subjects: Endocrinology -- Periodicals; 616.4005
• DOI: 10.1530/EJE-17-0280
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0804-4643

Abstract

Abstract : Objective: Male aging is characterized by a decline in testosterone (TS) levels with a substantial variability between subjects. However, it is unclear whether differences in age-related changes in TS are associated with general health. We investigated associations between mortality and intra-individual changes in serum levels of total TS, SHBG, free TS and LH during a ten-year period with up to 18 years of registry follow-up. Design: 1167 men aged 30–60 years participating in the Danish Monitoring Trends and Determinants of Cardiovascular Disease (MONICA1) study and who had a follow-up examination ten years later (MONICA10) were included. From MONICA10, the men were followed up to 18 years (mean: 15.2 years) based on the information from national mortality registries via their unique personal ID numbers. Methods: Cox proportional hazard models were used to investigate the association between intra-individual hormone changes and all-cause, CVD and cancer mortalities. Results: A total of 421 men (36.1%) died during the follow-up period. Men with most pronounced decline in total TS (<10th percentile) had a higher all-cause mortality risk compared to men within the 10th to 90th percentile (hazard ratio (HR): 1.60; 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.08–2.36). No consistent associations were seen in cause-specific mortality analyses. Conclusion: Our study showed that higher mortality rates were seen among the men who had the most pronounced age-related decline in TS, independent of their baseline TS levels.