The rate of change in declining steroid hormones: a new parameter of healthy aging in men?

Abstract

Research on healthy aging in men has increasingly focused on age-related hormonal changes. Testosterone (T) decline is primarily investigated, while age-related changes in other sex steroids (dehydroepiandrosterone [DHEA], estradiol [E2], progesterone [P]) are mostly neglected. An integrated hormone parameter reflecting aging processes in men has yet to be identified. 271 self-reporting healthy men between 40 and 75 provided both psychometric data and saliva samples for hormone analysis. Correlation analysis between age and sex steroids revealed negative associations for the four sex steroids (T, DHEA, E2, and P). Principal component analysis including ten salivary analytes identified a principal component mainly unifying the variance of the four sex steroid hormones. Subsequent principal component analysis including the four sex steroids extracted the principal component of declining steroid hormones (DSH). Moderation analysis of the association between age and DSH revealed significant moderation effects for psychosocial factors such as depression, chronic stress and perceived general health. In conclusion, these results provide further evidence that sex steroids decline in aging men and that the integrated hormone parameter DSH and its rate of change can be used as biomarkers for healthy aging in men. Furthermore, the negative association of age and DSH is moderated by psychosocial factors.

Keywords: Gerotarget; biomarker; decline; psychosocial factors; sex steroids; aging.

Figure 1. Flow chart of the study procedure and participation

Figure 2. Timeline of the biological examination

Figure 3. Association between age and the principal component of declining steroid hormones (DSH) and four sex steroids (T, DHEA, E2 and P) for different quantiles (red: lowest 10%; red and orange: lowest 25%; green: upper 75%)

Figure 4. Moderation plots of the associations between age and the principal component of declining steroid hormones (DSH) by depressive symptoms (top left: ADS-L2; top right: BSI-18-D), chronic stress (middle left: TICS-2-K), stressful life events (middle right: SLE), and general health (bottom left: GHQ-12; bottom right: SF-36)

Figure 5. A model of successful aging: Biological aging as main contributor of successful aging

Endocrine health, operationalized by the rate of change in DSH, reflects within biological aging a possible target to decelerate biological aging via lifestyle factors, psychological support or hormone replacement.