His and Her Health

Data from a large sample of pre-menopausal women confirm that testosterone levels decrease with age as healthy women near menopause. The data were presented at ENDO 2003, the 85th Annual Meeting of The Endocrine Society (Susan Davis, MD, PhD).<P>The investigators measured free testosterone and total testosterone, and other hormones produced by the adrenal glands and ovaries, which can be converted to testosterone and therefore indirectly impact testosterone levels. These included dihydrotestosterone (DHT), dehydroepiandrosterone sulfate (DHEA-S) and androstenedione (A).<P>The study included 245 healthy women with normal libido, 170 of whom were pre-menopausal and 75 of whom were postmenopausal and on stable estrogen replacement. Sex steroids were measured using sensitive assays, and values were compared between groups and across decades. The data showed that by the time women reached menopause there had been a significant decline in total testosterone, free testosterone, DHT, DHEA and A. Investigators correlated the decline in DHEA-S with the decline in circulating total testosterone (r2 = 0.38) and free testosterone (r2 = 0.49) and concluded that decline in DHEA-S and A may contribute to a decrease in testosterone prior to menopause.<BR>