Reference Intervals for Serum Sex Hormones in Han Chinese Adult Men from the Fangchenggang Area Male Health and Examination Survey
Qin, X.; Lv, H.; Mo, Z.; Chen, Z.; Lin, L.; Peng, T.; Zhang, H.; Yang, X.; Gao, Y.; Tan, A.; Huang, S.; Li, H.; Wu, H.; Deng, Y.; Li, S.
Clinical Laboratory 58(3-4): 281-290
2012
ISSN/ISBN: 1433-6510 PMID: 22582502 Document Number: 14578
Backgroud: The aim was to establish reference intervals for serum sex hormones in adult men in the Fangchenggang area of China. Methods: Serum samples from 1,191 healthy male subjects, aged 20 - 69 years, were collected from the Fangchenggang Area Male Health and Examination Survey (FAMHES). Total testosterone (T), estrogen (E2), luteinising hormone (LH), follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH), and sex hormone-binding globulin (SHBG) were measured by electrochemiluminescence immunoassay (Elecsys). Free testosterone (FTc) was calculated from the con-centrations of T, SHBG, and albumin. Results: The total nonparametric reference intervals for male sex hormones in our study were 12.6 - 37.0 nmol/L for T, 0.24 - 0.69 nmol/L for FTc, 65.4 - 207.7 pmol/L for E2, 2.2 - 11.6 IU/L for LH, 1.8 - 16.5 IU/L for FSH, and 18.2 - 95.1 nmol/L for SHBG. Age had a significant positive association with LH (r = 0.218), FSH (r = 0.427), and SHBG (r = 0.427) and a negative association with FTc (r = -0.383) and E2 (r = -0.098), but no significant association with T after adjustment for BMI. The age-dependent reference intervals were also calculated. Higher T and FTc concentrations were found in men who smoke compared with non-smokers, while no significant differences were found in E2, LH, FSH, and SHBG. When stratified for the number of cigarettes smoked per day, we found that the distributions of serum T levels were significantly higher only in the smokers who smoked 11 or more cigarettes a day than the non-smokers. Unlike T, the distributions of serum FTc levels were significantly higher only in the smokers who smoked less than 11 cigarettes a day, while the FSH levels were significantly lower. Conclusions: In clinical practice, single reference intervals can be used for men aged 20 - 69 years for T and E2 measured with the Elecsys method, but separate age-dependent reference intervals should be used for FTc, LH, FSH, and SHBG. In addition, distinct reference intervals for T should be established for non-smokers or smokers (1 - 10 cigarettes/day) and smokers (≥11 cigarettes/day).
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