Kinder Institute for Urban Research, Rice University, Houston, Texas, USA.
Andrology. 2022 Jul;10(5):944-950. doi: 10.1111/andr.13195. Epub 2022 May 18.
The relationship between men's testosterone levels and their sexual behaviors is unclear as existing studies find mixed results.
The key objective of this study is to assess whether men's testosterone levels are affected by sexual behaviors and to explore whether this relationship varies by age. Specifically, this study addresses the question: Are men's testosterone levels affected by the number of sexual partners they accrue?
This analysis was based on a nationally representative sample of 977 unpartnered heterosexual men between the ages of 20 and 65 in the United States. Serum testosterone levels were measured from blood samples using isotope dilution liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry and the number of sexual partners in the past 12 months was ascertained from an audio computer-assisted personal self-interview. Using ordinary least squares regression, serum testosterone levels were predicted as a function of the number of sexual partners that men reported, sociodemographic characteristics, and factors known to affect endocrine regulation. An interaction term between the number of sexual partners in the past 12 months and age was included.
The correlation between the number of sexual partners in the past 12 months and testosterone levels is contingent upon age: The relationship is positive for younger men but negative for older men. Among 20-year-old unpartnered heterosexual men, an additional sexual partner in the past 12 months is associated with an increase of 5.55 ng/dl of testosterone (95% confidence interval (CI): 2.92, 8.19). This initial positive effect at age 20 is reduced by 0.25 ng/dl of testosterone (95% CI: -0.44, -0.06) with each year that men age.
Testosterone levels in men are related to reproductive behaviors, but the direction of this relationship changes as men age.
男性睾丸激素水平与性行为之间的关系尚不清楚，因为现有研究结果不一。
本研究的主要目的是评估男性睾丸激素水平是否受到性行为的影响，并探讨这种关系是否因年龄而异。具体而言，本研究旨在回答以下问题：男性睾丸激素水平是否受到性伴侣数量的影响？
本分析基于美国 977 名年龄在 20 至 65 岁之间、无伴侣的异性恋男性的全国代表性样本。通过同位素稀释液相色谱串联质谱法从血液样本中测量血清睾丸激素水平，并通过音频计算机辅助个人自访谈确定过去 12 个月内的性伴侣数量。使用普通最小二乘法回归，将血清睾丸激素水平预测为男性报告的性伴侣数量、社会人口统计学特征以及已知影响内分泌调节的因素的函数。纳入了过去 12 个月内性伴侣数量与年龄之间的交互项。
过去 12 个月内性伴侣数量与睾丸激素水平之间的相关性取决于年龄：对于年轻男性呈正相关，对于年长男性呈负相关。在 20 岁的无伴侣异性恋男性中，过去 12 个月内增加一个性伴侣与睾丸激素增加 5.55ng/dl（95%置信区间：2.92，8.19）相关。这种在 20 岁时的最初正效应随着男性年龄的增长而降低 0.25ng/dl 的睾丸激素（95%置信区间：-0.44，-0.06）。
男性的睾丸激素水平与生殖行为有关，但这种关系的方向会随着男性年龄的变化而变化。
