Decline of serum levels of free testosterone in aging healthy Chinese men.

OBJECTIVE

To investigate the age-related change of serum androgen levels in healthy men and to define a cut-off value of serum testosterone for the diagnosis of androgen deficiency in the aging male.

METHOD

1080 healthy men aged 20 to 70 years old were enrolled in Beijing, Shanghai, Xian and Chongqing. Luteinizing hormone (LH), follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH), total testosterone (T), calculated free testosterone (cFT), sex hormone binding globulin (SHBG), 17beta-oestradiol (E2), the T/LH ratio, and T/SHBG as a free testosterone index (FTI) were all determined.

RESULTS

Serum total T did not significantly decline, but the cFT, T/LH and FTI progressively decreased with aging. To determine androgen deficiency, the 10th percentile value of men < 40 years was defined as the lower cut-off value for cFT, T/LH or FTI, which were 0.3 nmol/L, 2.8 nmol/IU, and 0.4 nmol/IU respectively. With the median value of cFT of men aged between 20 and 49 years as the criterion, the level of cFT was lower in 2.82% of men from 40 to 49 years, in 19.53% from 50 to 59 years, in 22.57% from 60 to 69 years, and in 33.19% of men > or = 70 years. Taking the above value of cFT as the cut-off point, the prevalence of androgen deficiency in men 40-49 years was 13.0%, 31.8% in men 50-59 years, 30.1% in men 60 to 69 years, and 46.7% in men > 70 years.

CONCLUSIONS

(i). While serum total T values do not decline with aging, the levels of cFT gradually decline with aging; (ii) when using the value of cFT of the 10th percentile of men aged 20 to 39 years as the cut-off point, the prevalence of androgen deficiency was < 15% before the age of 50 years, and about 30% thereafter, approaching 45% after the age of 70 years; and (iii) in this study the values of T/LH paralleled those of cFT closely; therefore, T/LH could serve as a surrogate for cFT.