help button home button Endocrine Society JCEM
HOME HELP FEEDBACK SUBSCRIPTIONS ARCHIVE SEARCH
This version published online on April 24, 2007
Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism, doi:10.1210/jc.2007-0028
A more recent version of this article appeared on July 1, 2007
This Article
Right arrow Author Manuscript (PDF)
Right arrow All Versions of this Article:
92/7/2519    most recent
Author Manuscript (PDF)
Right arrow Submit a related Letter to the Editor
Right arrow Purchase Article
Right arrow View Shopping Cart
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me when eLetters are posted
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Services
Right arrow Email this article to a friend
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in PubMed
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrow Request Copyright Permission
Citing Articles
Right arrow Citing Articles via HighWire
Right arrow Citing Articles via Google Scholar
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Rohrmann, S.
Right arrow Articles by Platz, E. A.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by Rohrmann, S.
Right arrow Articles by Platz, E. A.
Right arrowPubmed/NCBI databases
*Compound via MeSH
*Substance via MeSH
Hazardous Substances DB
*TESTOSTERONE
Related Collections
Right arrow Male Endocrinology

Submitted on January 5, 2007
Accepted on April 16, 2007

Serum Estrogen, but not Testosterone Levels Differ between Black and White men in a Nationally Representative Sample of Americans

Sabine Rohrmann, William G. Nelson, Nader Rifai, Terry R. Brown, Adrian Dobs, Norma Kanarek, James D. Yager, and Elizabeth A. Platz*

Division of Cancer Epidemiology, German Cancer Research Center, Heidelberg, Germany; Departments of Oncology, Pathology, Pharmacology and Molecular Sciences, Radiation Oncology and Molecular Radiation Sciences, Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions, Baltimore, MD USA; the Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center, Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions, Baltimore, MD USA; the James Buchanan Brady Urological Institute, Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions, Baltimore, MD USA; Department of Laboratory Medicine, Harvard Medical School and Children's Hospital, Boston, MA USA; Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, MD, USA; Division of Endocrinology and Metabolism, Department of Medicine, Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions, Baltimore, MD, USA; Department of Environmental Health Sciences, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, MD USA; Division of Toxicology, Department of Environmental Health Sciences, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, MD USA; Department of Epidemiology, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, MD, USA

* To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: eplatz{at}jhsph.edu.

Context: Higher testosterone in black compared with white men has been postulated to explain their higher prostate cancer incidence. Previous studies comparing hormone levels by race might have been limited by size, restricted age variation, or lack of representation of the general population.

Objective: To compare serum testosterone, estradiol, and sex hormone binding globulin (SHBG) concentrations among non-Hispanic black, non-Hispanic white, and Mexican-American men.

Design: Cross-sectional study.

Setting: Third National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES III).

Participants: 1,413 men, aged 20+ years, attending the morning examination session, 1988-1991.

Measurement: Serum hormones by competitive electrochemiluminescence immunoassays.

Results: After applying sampling weights and adjusting for age, percent body fat, alcohol, smoking, and activity, testosterone concentrations were not different between non-Hispanic blacks (n=363; geometric mean 5.29 ng/mL) and non-Hispanic whites (n=674; 5.11 ng/mL; p>0.05) but was higher in Mexican-Americans (n=376; 5.48 ng/mL). Non-Hispanic blacks (40.80 pg/mL) had a higher estradiol concentration than non-Hispanic whites (35.46 pg/mL; p<0.01) and Mexican-Americans (34.11 pg/mL, p<0.01). Non-Hispanic blacks (36.49 nmol/L) had a higher SHBG concentration than non-Hispanic whites (34.91 nmol/L; p<0.05) and Mexican-Americans (35.04 nmol/L).

Conclusions: Contrary to the postulated racial difference, testosterone concentrations did not differ notably between black and white men. However, blacks had higher estradiol levels. Mexican-Americans had higher testosterone than whites, but similar estradiol and SHBG concentrations. Given these findings, it may be equally, if not more important to investigate estradiol as testosterone in relation to diseases with racial disparity.
Key words: Testosterone • estradiol • NHANES III • racial variation




This article has been cited by other articles:


Home page
 J. Clin. Endocrinol. Metab.Home page
A. B. Araujo, T. G. Travison, B. Z. Leder, and J. B. McKinlay
Correlations between Serum Testosterone, Estradiol, and Sex Hormone-Binding Globulin and Bone Mineral Density in a Diverse Sample of Men
J. Clin. Endocrinol. Metab., June 1, 2008; 93(6): 2135 - 2141.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

Home page
 Arch Intern MedHome page
S. A. Hall, A. B. Araujo, G. R. Esche, R. E. Williams, R. V. Clark, T. G. Travison, and J. B. McKinlay
Treatment of Symptomatic Androgen Deficiency: Results From the Boston Area Community Health Survey
Arch Intern Med, May 26, 2008; 168(10): 1070 - 1076.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

Home page
 J. Clin. Endocrinol. Metab.Home page
C. Wang, P. Christenson, and R. Swerdloff
Clinical Relevance of Racial and Ethnic Differences in Sex Steroids
J. Clin. Endocrinol. Metab., July 1, 2007; 92(7): 2433 - 2435.
[Full Text] [PDF]


HOME HELP FEEDBACK SUBSCRIPTIONS ARCHIVE SEARCH
Endocrinology Endocrine Reviews J. Clin. End. & Metab.
Molecular Endocrinology Recent Prog. Horm. Res. All Endocrine Journals
Copyright © 2007 by The Endocrine Society