Rhythm-adjusted age effects in a concomitant study of twelve hormones in blood plasma of women.

The concentrations of luteinizing hormone, prolactin, estrone, estradiol, 17-hydroxyprogestrone, cortisol, aldosterone, dehydroepiandrosterone, thyrotropic hormone, triiodothyronine, thyroxin and insulin were determined in blood plasma obtained from women aged 15 to 59 years. Blood was sampled at intervals of 20 to 100 min throughout 24-hour spans in each of the four seasons and (in the case of cycling women) in four different stages of the menstrual cycle. With such sampling allowing for rhythmic and other fluctuations over a broad time scale it was possible to demonstrate statistically significant effects of age on hormones associated with the menstrual cycle (luteinizing hormone, prolactin, estrone, estradiol and 17-hydroxyprogesterone) and on dehydroepiandrosterone, but not on the remainder. The amplitude of circadian rhythms in several of the hormones also varied with age, thus affirming the value of sampling throughout this particular rhythm.