Relationships Between 24-hour LH and Testosterone Concentrations and With Other Pituitary Hormones in Healthy Older Men

Abstract

Abstract Objective To investigate the relationship between LH and testosterone (T), which characteristics associate with the strength of this relationship, and their interrelationships with GH, TSH, cortisol, and ACTH. Design Hormones were measured in serum samples collected every 10 minutes during 24 hours from 20 healthy men, comprising 10 offspring of long-lived families and 10 control subjects, with a mean (SD) age of 65.6 (5.3) years. We performed cross-correlation analyses to assess the relative strength between 2 timeseries for all possible time shifts. Results Mean (95% CI) maximal correlation was 0.21 (0.10-0.31) at lag time of 60 minutes between LH and total T concentrations. Results were comparable for calculated free, bioavailable, or secretion rates of T. Men with strong LH-T cross-correlations had, compared with men with no cross-correlation, lower fat mass (18.5 [14.9-19.7] vs. 22.3 [18.4-29.4] kg), waist circumference (93.6 [5.7] vs. 103.1 [12.0] cm), high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (0.7 [0.4-1.3] vs. 1.8 [0.8-12.3] mg/L), IL-6 (0.8 [0.6-1.0] vs. 1.2 [0.9-3.0] pg/mL), and 24-hour mean LH (4.3 [2.0] vs. 6.1 [1.5] U/L), and stronger LH-T feedforward synchrony (1.5 [0.3] vs. 1.9 [0.2]). Furthermore, T was positively cross-correlated with TSH (0.32 [0.21-0.43]), cortisol (0.26 [0.19-0.33]), and ACTH (0.26 [0.19-0.32]). Conclusions LH is followed by T with a delay of 60 minutes in healthy older men. Men with a strong LH-T relationship had more favorable body composition, inflammatory markers, LH levels, and LH-T feedforward synchrony. We observed positive correlations between T and TSH, cortisol, and ACTH.