Serum insulin-like growth factor-I and serum testosterone status of elderly men in an inpatient rehabilitation unit

• Published in: The American journal of the medical sciences 1996-04, Vol.311 (4), p.169-173
• Main Authors: KOSASIH, J. B, ABBASI, A. A, RUDMAN, D
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Adult; Age Factors; Aged; Aged, 80 and over; Analysis of Variance; Biological and medical sciences; Endocrinopathies; Hospitalization; Humans; Hypogonadism - blood; Hypothalamus. Hypophysis. Epiphysis (diseases); Insulin-Like Growth Factor I - metabolism; Male; Medical sciences; Middle Aged; Non tumoral diseases. Target tissue resistance. Benign neoplasms; Rehabilitation; Rehabilitation Centers; Testosterone - blood
• ISSN: 0002-9629; 1538-2990
• DOI: 10.1097/00000441-199604000-00003

This study was designed to estimate the prevalence of hyposomatomedinemia and hypogonadism in an inpatient rehabilitation unit. The authors studied healthy young men (HOM) ages 20-29 years (n=33); healthy old men (HOM) ages 59-98 years (n=27), and elderly men in an inpatient rehabilitation unit (ERM) ages 58-95 years (n=42). Serum concentrations of insulin-like growth factor (IGF-I), total testosterone (TT), and free testosterone (FT) were measured. A low IGF-I level (below the lower 2.5 percentile of HYM) occurred in 85% of the HOM and in 62.5% of the ERM. When a low IGF-I was defined as a value below the 2.5 percentile of the HOM, the prevalence in ERM was 6.2%. A low TT level (below the lower 2.5 percentile of the HOM) occurred in 78% of the HOM and in 90% of the ERM. Low TT, defined as a value below the lower 2.5 percentile of the HOM, occurred in 22% of the ERM. The results with FT were similar. In neither HOM nor ERM was IGF-I significantly correlated to TT and FT. A large percentage of HOM and ERM have severe hypogonadism (TT