Women in sports: The applicability of reference intervals for 6 commercially available testosterone immunoassays (HemSter Study)

Testosterone levels in female athletes are increased due to their physical activity and correlate with their exercise volume. We therefore hypothesized that the reference intervals (RIs) derived from the general population are not applicable for female athletes. The aim of this study was to evaluate...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Clinical biochemistry 2020-10, Vol.84, p.55-62
Main Authors: Radišić Biljak, Vanja, Đuras, Anamarija, Čičak, Helena, Vidranski, Valentina, Vidranski, Tihomir, Peersman, Nele, Vermeersch, Pieter, Ostroški, Ivanka, Ružić, Lana, Simundic, Ana-Maria
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adolescent
Adult
Athletes
Chromatography, Liquid
Exercise - physiology
Female
Female athletes
Humans
Immunoassay
Immunoassay - methods
Kinesiology
Physical activity
Reference Standards
Reference Values
Sport
Sports - physiology
Tandem Mass Spectrometry
Testosterone
Testosterone - analysis
Testosterone - blood
Young Adult
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Summary:Testosterone levels in female athletes are increased due to their physical activity and correlate with their exercise volume. We therefore hypothesized that the reference intervals (RIs) derived from the general population are not applicable for female athletes. The aim of this study was to evaluate the applicability of the given RIs for 6 commercially available testosterone immunoassays in a group of female athletes. Our study included 121 female athletes from various sporting disciplines (water polo, handball, volleyball, football, and basketball). The physical activity score was assessed by the Short Form of the International Physical Activity Questionnaire. Total testosterone was measured in serum samples by the reference LC–MS/MS method and six different immunoassays (Abbott Architect 2nd Generation Testosterone, Beckman Coulter Access Testosterone, Roche Elecsys Testosterone II, Siemens Atellica® IM Testosterone II (TSTII), Siemens IMMULITE 2000 Total Testosterone, and Snibe MAGLUMI™ Testosterone). There were statistically significant differences in age (P = 0.042), weight (P = 0.001), height (P 
ISSN:0009-9120
1873-2933
DOI:10.1016/j.clinbiochem.2020.06.006