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The Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism Vol. 84, No. 10 3681-3685
Copyright © 1999 by The Endocrine Society

Original Studies

Endogenous Sex Hormones and Cognitive Function in Older Men1

Elizabeth Barrett-Connor, Deborah Goodman-Gruen and Brad Patay

Department of Family and Preventive Medicine (E.B.-C., D.G.-G.), University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, California 92093-0607; and Good Samaritan Regional Medical Center (B.P.), Phoenix, Arizona 85004

Address correspondence and requests for reprints to: Dr. Elizabeth Barrett-Connor, Department of Family and Preventive Medicine, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, California 92093-0607. E-mail: ebarrettconnor{at}ucsd.edu

The objective of this study was to determine whether endogenous sex hormone levels predict cognitive function in older men. Our study design was an exploratory analysis in a population-based cohort in Rancho Bernardo, California. The study participants were 547 community-dwelling men 59–89 yr of age at baseline who were not using testosterone or estrogen therapy. Between 1984 and 1987, sera were collected for measurement of endogenous total and bioavailable testosterone and estradiol levels. Between 1988 and 1991, 12 standard neuropsychological instruments were administered, including two items from the Blessed Information-Memory-Concentration (BIMC) Test, three measures of retrieval from the Buschke-Fuld Selective Reminding Test, a category fluency test, immediate and delayed recall from the Visual Reproduction Test, the Mini-Mental State Examination with individual analysis of the Serial Sevens and the "World" Backwards components, and the Trail-Making Test Part B. In age- and education-adjusted analyses, men with higher levels of total and bioavailable estradiol had poorer scores on the BIMC Test and Mini-Mental State Examination. Men with higher levels of bioavailable testosterone had better scores on the BIMC Test and the Selective Reminding Test (long-term storage). Five associations were U-shaped: total testosterone and total and bioavailable estradiol with the BIMC Test; bioavailable testosterone with the "World" test; and total estradiol with the Trail-Making Test. All associations were relatively weak but independent of age, education, body mass index, alcohol use, cigarette smoking and depression. In these older men, low estradiol and high testosterone levels predicted better performance on several tests of cognitive function. Linear and nonlinear associations were also found, suggesting that an optimal level of sex hormones may exist for some cognitive functions.




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