The Endocrine Society issued a press release on September 6, 2007. First, let me introduce The Endocrine Society -- the following information is from Wikipedia, copied September 15, 2007 (it appears to be accurate):
The Endocrine Society is a professional, international medical organization in the field of endocrinology and metabolism, founded in 1916 as The Association for the Study of Internal Secretions. The official name of the organization was changed to the Endocrine Society on January 1, 1952. It is a leading organization in the field and publishes four leading journals. It has more than 13,000 members from over 85 countries in medicine, molecular and cellular biology, biochemistry, physiology, genetics, immunology, education, industry and allied health. The Society's mission is: "excellence in hormone research and care of patients with endocrine disease".
Annual Meetings have been held since 1916 except in 1943 and 1945 during World War II when meetings were cancelled at the request of the United States government. Realizing the increasing importance of endocrinology to general medicine, the Council, in 1947, established an annual post graduate assembly now known as the Clinical Endocrinology Update.
The Society publishes Endocrinology, the first issue of which was published in January 1917. Another publication, The Journal of Clinical Endocrinology, was established in 1914, and the name of the journal was changed to The Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism on January 1, 1952.
In 1997, The Society established The Hormone Foundation, a public education affiliate. The mission of The Hormone Foundation is to serve as a resource for the public by promoting the prevention, treatment and cure of hormone-related conditions through outreach and education.
The Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism is a publication of The Endocrine Society.
Here is the official release:
As men age, their testosterone levels decline gradually. However, a new study reveals that relatively few men, only 5.6 percent of the male population, actually suffer from low testosterone accompanied by clinical symptoms. That percentage, however, rises substantially with age.
Low testosterone levels are typically defined as less than 300 ng/dL (nanograms per deciliter) of total testosterone and less than 5 ng/dL of free testosterone. Free testosterone is the amount of the hormone unbound to other proteins and is “free” to work inside the body. “Low levels of testosterone impact many aspects of male physiology,” said Andre B. Araujo, Ph.D., a research scientist at the New England Research Institutes in Watertown, Mass., and lead author of the study. “This is particularly significant because the ongoing aging of the U.S. male population is likely to cause the number of men suffering from androgen deficiency to increase appreciably."
Consistent with a recently issued Clinical Practice Guideline from the Endocrine Society, symptomatic androgen deficiency in the study by Araujo and colleagues is defined as low total and free testosterone plus the presence of low libido, erectile dysfunction, osteoporosis or facture, or two or more of the following symptoms: sleep disturbance, depressed mood, lethargy, or diminished physical performance.
For this study, the researchers analyzed data on 1,475 randomly selected men enrolled in the Boston Area Community Health (BACH) Survey. The survey tracked subjects between the ages of 30-79 and compiled complete data on factors such as testosterone, symptoms of hormone deficiency, and medications that may impact sex hormone levels. Among all men in the study (mean age 47.3 plus-or-minus 12.5 years), approximately 24 percent had low total testosterone and 11 percent had low levels of free testosterone. Interestingly, while low testosterone levels were associated with symptoms, many men with low testosterone levels were asymptomatic (e.g., among men aged 50 years and older 47.6 percent were asymptomatic).
“Since these men would not likely come to clinical attention,” said Araujo, “it may be important to determine whether there are clinical risks to missing these asymptomatic men with low testosterone levels.” Overall, only 5.6 percent of men in the study had symptomatic androgen deficiency. For those men in the upper range of ages in the study (70 years or older), however, the percentage increased to 18.4 percent.
The researchers predicted that by the year 2025 there may be as many as 6.5 million American men 30-79 years of age with symptomatic androgen deficiency, an increase of 38 percent from year 2000 population estimates.
“This study did not assess whether men with symptomatic androgen deficiency are good candidates for testosterone therapy,” said Araujo. “Well designed randomized placebo-controlled trials would be needed to address the risks and benefits of testosterone therapy.”
The BACH Survey was supported by the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (Grant DK 56842). Analyses for the current study were supported through an unrestricted educational grant from GlaxoSmithKline.
A rapid release version of this paper has been published on-line and will appear in the November 2007 issue of the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism, a publication of The Endocrine Society.
Title: Prevalence of Symptomatic Androgen Deficiency in Men
Authors: Andre B. Araujo, Gretchen R. Esche, Varant Kupelian, Amy B. O'Donnell, Thomas G. Travison, Rachel E. Williams, Richard V. Clark, and John B. McKinlay
If you're really interested in testosterone and growth hormone replacement, you can view a webcast from The Endocrine Society by clicking here.
Here's some information regarding this webcast:
Testosterone and Growth Hormone Replacement: Impact on Health and Fitness
(25 Mins 40 Secs)
Summary Points: Growth hormone increased lean body mass but not muscle in a study with recreational athletes. Growth hormone supplementation did not improve physical performance. Doping with growth hormone can be detected by particular proteins in the blood, a study found.
Presenters:
Marc R. Blackman, MD, Chief of the Endocrine Section, Laboratory of Clinical Investigation, National Institutes of Health.
Dr. Ken Ho, Garvan Institute of Medical Research, Sydney, Australia.
Dr. Anne Nelson, Garvan Institute of Medical Research, Sydney, Australia
A discussion regarding this issue took place in this online forum before, you may view it by clicking here -- that's a topic called: "News Flash: Anti-aging supplements don't work."
Health Day News published a report on this matter, you can view that by clicking here -- that's an article called: "1 in 4 Men Over 30 Has Low Testosterone: But symptoms linked to low levels are much rarer, study finds."
I guess it's time for men over the age of 30 to get their levels of testosterone assessed.
Take care.
