Holmboe SA, Skakkebaek NE, Juul A, et al. Individual testosterone decline and future mortality risk in men. European Journal of Endocrinology. Individual testosterone decline and future mortality risk in men
Objective: Male aging is characterized by a decline in testosterone (T) levels with a substantial variability between subjects. However, it is unclear whether differences in age-related changes in T are associated with general health. We investigated associations between mortality and intra-individual changes in serum levels of total T, SHBG, free T, estradiol and LH during a ten year period with up to 18 years of registry follow-up.
Design: 1,167 men aged 30 to 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) in national mortality registries via their unique personal ID number.
Methods: Cox proportional hazard models were used to investigate the association between intra-individual hormone changes and all-cause-, CVD-, and cancer mortality.
Results: A total of 421 men (36.1%) died during the follow-up period. Men with most pronounced decline in total T (<10th percentile) had a higher all-cause mortality risk compared to men within the 10th to 90th percentile (hazard ratio
, 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 T, independent of their baseline T levels.
Objective: Male aging is characterized by a decline in testosterone (T) levels with a substantial variability between subjects. However, it is unclear whether differences in age-related changes in T are associated with general health. We investigated associations between mortality and intra-individual changes in serum levels of total T, SHBG, free T, estradiol and LH during a ten year period with up to 18 years of registry follow-up.
Design: 1,167 men aged 30 to 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) in national mortality registries via their unique personal ID number.
Methods: Cox proportional hazard models were used to investigate the association between intra-individual hormone changes and all-cause-, CVD-, and cancer mortality.
Results: A total of 421 men (36.1%) died during the follow-up period. Men with most pronounced decline in total T (<10th percentile) had a higher all-cause mortality risk compared to men within the 10th to 90th percentile (hazard ratio
, 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 T, independent of their baseline T levels.
