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Relationship between androgenic hormones and arterial stiffness, based on longitudinal hormone measurements

1 Clinical Research Branch, Intramural Research Program, National Institute on Aging, National Institutes of Health, Baltimore, Maryland; 2 Osaka University Graduate School of Medicine, Osaka, Japan; 3 Laboratory of Cardiovascular Sciences, Intramural Research Program, National Institute on Aging, N...

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Published in:American journal of physiology: endocrinology and metabolism 2006-02, Vol.290 (2), p.E234-E242
Main Authors: Hougaku, Hidetaka, Fleg, Jerome L, Najjar, Samer S, Lakatta, Edward G, Harman, S. Mitchell, Blackman, Marc R, Metter, E. Jeffrey
Format: Article
Language:English
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Summary:1 Clinical Research Branch, Intramural Research Program, National Institute on Aging, National Institutes of Health, Baltimore, Maryland; 2 Osaka University Graduate School of Medicine, Osaka, Japan; 3 Laboratory of Cardiovascular Sciences, Intramural Research Program, National Institute on Aging, National Institutes of Health, Baltimore, Maryland; 4 Kronos Longevity Research Institute, Phoenix, Arizona; and 5 Laboratory of Clinical Investigation, National Center for Complimentary and Alternative Medicine, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland Submitted 10 February 2005 ; accepted in final form 6 September 2005 Circulating testosterone levels (T) decrease with age in men. Low T has been associated with coronary disease and with risk factors for atherosclerosis. This study examines the relationship in men between androgenic hormones and arterial stiffness, a major risk factor for cardiovascular events. T, sex hormone-binding globulin (SHBG), and dehydroepiandrosterone sulfate (DHEAS) were measured longitudinally over 33 yr (follow-up 11.8 ± 8.3 yr) in 901 men from the Baltimore Longitudinal Study of Aging, of whom 206 (68.1 ± 13.7 yr) underwent carotid duplex ultrasonography. The 901 men were used to characterize age-associated hormone levels by means of mixed-effects models. Hormone values were estimated for the 206 men at the time of ultrasonography. Free T index (FTI) was calculated by dividing T by SHBG. The arterial stiffness index was calculated from peak systolic and end diastolic diameters of the common carotid artery and simultaneous brachial artery blood pressure. T, FTI, and DHEAS were correlated negatively with age, pulse pressure (PP), and stiffness index (each P < 0.01), whereas SHBG was correlated positively with age and stiffness index ( P < 0.01). However, T was the only hormone that predicted the stiffness index after adjustment for age, PP, fasting plasma glucose, body mass index, and total cholesterol. T values 5–10 yr before the carotid study also predicted the stiffness index ( P < 0.05). Thus the adverse influence of low T on the cardiovascular system in men may be mediated in part via the effects of T on vascular structure and function. testosterone; dehydroepiandrosterone; carotid ultrasonography; intimal medial thickness; coronary heart disease Address for reprint requests and other correspondence: E. J. Metter, Clinical Research Branch, National Institute on Aging, Harbor Hospital, 5th Floor, 3001 South Hanover St., Ba
ISSN:0193-1849
1522-1555
DOI:10.1152/ajpendo.00059.2005