Sociosexuality moderates the association between testosterone and relationship status in men and women

Single individuals typically have higher testosterone compared to those who are partnered, suggesting that individual differences in testosterone are associated with mating effort, or people's motivation to find a sexual partner. However, there is less consistent evidence for links between testosterone and sociosexuality, or people's orientation toward uncommitted sexual activity. Based on Penke and Asendorpf's (2008) conceptualization, we propose that a more nuanced measure of sociosexuality may reveal more robust associations with testosterone. In the current study, we assessed relations between three components of sociosexuality—desire, behavior, and attitudes—and endogenous testosterone levels in men and women. We found that partnered status was indeed associated with lower testosterone in both men and women, but only among those who reported more restricted sociosexuality. Partnered men who reported greater desire for uncommitted sexual activity had testosterone levels that were comparable to those of single men; partnered women who reported more frequent uncommitted sexual behavior had testosterone levels that were comparable to those of single women. These findings provide new evidence that people's orientations toward sexual relationships, in combination with their relationship status, are associated with individual differences in testosterone. The current results are also among the first to demonstrate sociosexuality-testosterone associations in both men and women, and they reveal that the nature of these associations varies by gender. Together, these findings highlight the utility of a multifaceted conceptualization of sociosexuality and the implications of this conceptualization for neuroendocrine processes.     

Endogenous estradiol and testosterone levels are associated with cognitive performance in older women and men

Relatively few studies have investigated the relationship between endogenous sex steroid levels and cognition in older people and the reported results have been inconsistent. A number of experimental hormone replacement studies have suggested that estrogen replacement in older women enhances cognition, especially verbal memory. In contrast, little research has been done focusing on men. In the current study the association between endogenous sex steroids (estradiol and testosterone) and cognition was investigated in 38 healthy older women (mean age 68 years) and 30 healthy older men (mean age 69 years). Five cognitive tests measuring verbal memory, spatial memory, verbal fluency, mental rotation, and susceptibility to interference were administered. Results revealed that in women higher estradiol levels as well as testosterone levels were associated with better verbal memory (paired associates and estradiol; r =.38, P < 0.05; paired associates and testosterone; r =.33, P < 0.05;). Moreover estradiol, but not testosterone was associated with less susceptibility to interference (Stroop color word test; r = -0.34, P < 0.05). In men the only significant association was a negative correlation between testosterone and verbal fluency (r = -0.38, P < 0.05). The associations observed in this small study support the notion that estradiol is protecting verbal memory and possibly also frontal lobe mediated functions in older women. In contrast to the positive findings in women endogenous sex steroids do not appear to be closely linked to better cognition in older men.     

Tenomodulin is associated with obesity and diabetes risk: the Finnish diabetes prevention study

We recently showed that long-term weight reduction changes the gene expression profile of adipose tissue in overweight individuals with impaired glucose tolerance (IGT). One of the responding genes was X-chromosomal tenomodulin (TNMD), a putative angiogenesis inhibitor. Our aim was to study the associations of individual single nucleotide polymorphisms and haplotypes with adiposity, glucose metabolism, and the risk of type 2 diabetes (T2D). Seven single nucleotide polymorphisms from two different haploblocks were genotyped from 507 participants of the Finnish Diabetes Prevention Study (DPS). Sex-specific genotype effects were observed. Three markers of haploblock 1 were associated with features of adiposity in women (rs5966709, rs4828037) and men (rs11798018). Markers rs2073163 and rs1155794 from haploblock 2 were associated with 2-hour plasma glucose levels in men during the 3-year follow-up. The same two markers together with rs2073162 associated with the conversion of IGT to T2D in men. The risk of developing T2D was approximately 2-fold in individuals with genotypes associated with higher 2-hour plasma glucose levels; the hazard ratios were 2.192 (p = 0.025) for rs2073162-A, 2.191 (p = 0.027) for rs2073163-C, and 1.998 (p = 0.054) for rs1155974-T. These results suggest that TNMD polymorphisms are associated with adiposity and also with glucose metabolism and conversion from IGT to T2D in men.     

Androgens and bone

Testosterone is the major gonadal sex steroid produced by the testes in men. Testosterone is also produced in smaller amounts by the ovaries in women. The adrenal glands produce the weaker androgens dehydroepiandrosterone, dehydroepiandrosterone sulfate, and androstenedione. These androgens collectively affect skeletal homeostasis throughout life in both men and women, particularly at puberty and during adult life. Because testosterone can be metabolized to estradiol by the aromatase enzyme, there has been controversy as to which gonadal sex steroid has the greater skeletal effect. The current evidence suggests that estradiol plays a greater role in maintenance of skeletal health than testosterone, but that androgens also have direct beneficial effects on bone. Supraphysiological levels of testosterone likely have similar effects on bone as lower levels via direct interaction with androgen receptors, as well as effects mediated by estrogen receptors after aromatization to estradiol. Whether high doses of synthetic, non-aromatizable androgens may, in fact, be detrimental to bone due to suppression of endogenous testosterone (and estrogen) levels is a potential concern that warrants further study.     

Endogenous estrogen, testosterone and progesterone levels in relation to breast cancer risk

Multiple lines of evidence support a central role of hormones in the etiology of breast cancer. In epidemiologic studies, considerable effort has focused on delineating the role of endogenous hormones in risk of breast cancer among postmenopausal women. Recently, substantial additional data has accrued from prospective studies where endogenous hormones are measured in study subjects prior to disease diagnosis. In this review, the epidemiologic evidence linking sex steroids—estrogens, testosterone, and progesterone, specifically—with subsequent risk of breast cancer in both premenopausal and postmenopausal women is summarized. Overall, a strong positive association between breast cancer risk and circulating levels of both estrogens and testosterone has now been well confirmed among postmenopausal women; women with hormone levels in the top 20% of the distribution (versus bottom 20%) have a two- to three-fold higher risk of breast cancer. Evidence among premenopausal women is more limited, though increased risk associated with higher levels of testosterone is consistent. However, both positive and null associations have been observed with estrogens and progesterone and clearly more evaluation is needed.     

Are optimal levels of testosterone associated with better cognitive function in healthy older women and men?

Background

Sex steroids can positively affect the brain and from this it would follow that high levels of sex steroids could be associated with better cognitive function in older men and women.

Methods

This Healthy Ageing Study sample comprised of 521 older participants (51% women) without dementia at baseline, with an age range from 64 to 94 years. Testosterone and sex hormone binding globulin were measured using the automated Immulite 2000 and analyzed in association with baseline memory, global cognitive function and decline (assessed using the Mini-Mental Status Examination or MMSE) and controlling for potential confounds such as age, education, vascular disease, smoking, diabetes, thyroid function, and body mass index.

Results

In healthy older men and women, optimal levels of testosterone were associated with better MMSE scores at baseline. Follow-up analyses indicated that in men, low testosterone levels (OR = .94, 95% CI = .88 to 1.00) were a risk factor for a sharp cognitive decline after 2 years, perhaps indicative of dementia. Associations were independent of covariates and baseline MMSE. Conversely, women at risk for a sharp drop in cognitive function showed some evidence for higher calculated free testosterone levels at baseline.

Conclusions

Results replicate earlier cross-sectional findings that high levels of sex steroids are not associated with better cognitive function in older people. In men, age accelerated endocrinological change could be associated with dementia pathology.

General significance

These data do not support increasing testosterone levels to prevent cognitive decline in men and women over 65 years of age.     

Type 2 diabetes, impaired glucose tolerance, and hypertension in offspring of migrants and the structure of the population of origin

Data collected from Nisei men and women, offspring of immigrants to the United States from Japan, were examined for evidence of possible genetic heterogeneity in Japan with respect to type 2 diabetes or non-insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus (NIDDM), impaired glucose tolerance (IGT), and hypertension. The subjects were 391 men and women with a mean age of 62.0 (+/- 0.3) years. Patterns of disease expression in the Nisei with respect to the origins in Japan of their parents indicated that the genetic basis for NIDDM may be more frequent in northern Honshu than in southwestern Honshu, whereas that for IGT may be more frequent in southwestern Honshu. Further analyses indicate that the pattern for IGT is restricted to men. Hypertension appears more frequently in persons with parents from northern Honshu and less frequently in women but not in men from southwestern Honshu. For men an analysis of age and family history of diabetes by oral glucose diagnostic category revealed the presence of a group of younger men with IGT but, surprisingly, no family history of diabetes. Thus the data show an apparent lack of the consistency expected if diabetes and IGT simply represent stages of one disease entity. We suggest that IGT may represent a heterogeneous category including both an early or transitional stage of NIDDM and another condition found primarily in men in which less severe glucose tolerance appears and with which hypertension may be associated. Data on ancient settlement in Japan suggest a possible historical basis for the patterns found.     

Menstrual cycle, trait estrogen level, and masculinity preferences in the human voice

Men with low testosterone (feminine men) invest in relationships and offspring more than men with high testosterone (masculine men). Women's attraction to testosterone dependent traits (e.g. masculine face shape) is enhanced during the late-follicular, fertile phase of the menstrual cycle. Attractive, feminine women have stronger preferences for masculine men as possible long-term partners than less attractive, masculine women. We manipulated 2 testosterone related vocal traits (voice pitch and apparent vocal-tract length) in voices to test if women prefer masculinized men's voices to feminized men's voices; masculinity preferences are enhanced at the fertile (late-follicular) menstrual cycle phase; the amount that masculinity preferences shift cyclically relates to average estrone-3-glucuronide concentration (the primary urinary metabolite of estrone, E3G). We found women displayed general masculinity preferences for men's voices; masculinity preferences were greater in the fertile (late-follicular) phase of the cycle than the non-fertile (early-follicular and luteal) phase; and this effect was most pronounced for women with low average E3G concentration. As feminine women (i.e. those with high average E3G levels) are most able to obtain investment even from masculine men, these women may not need to change their mating preference or strategy during the menstrual cycle as much as masculine women.     

Implicit motives and gonadal steroid hormones: effects of menstrual cycle phase,oral contraceptive use,and relationship status

Implicit motives for power and affiliation, salivary levels of testosterone, estradiol, and progesterone, and relationship status were measured in 18 normally cycling (NC) women, 18 women using oral contraceptives (OC), and 18 men at three assessments, corresponding to the menstrual, midcycle, and premenstrual phases of women's menstrual cycle. NC and OC women had elevated levels of affiliation motivation and decreased levels of power motivation at midcycle. Power motive changes were particularly pronounced in NC women across cycle phases. OC women and participants not engaged in an intimate relationship had significantly heightened levels of affiliation motivation, averaged across all cycle phases. Testosterone and power motivation, both averaged across all cycle phases, were positively correlated in men and in single women, but not in women engaged in an intimate relationship. Averaged levels of estradiol and power motivation were positively correlated in engaged women, but not in single women or men. Averaged levels of progesterone and affiliation motivation were negatively correlated in men, and there was evidence for a positive association between luteal affiliation motivation and periovulatory and luteal progesterone in NC women. This study therefore provides evidence that implicit motivational states fluctuate across the menstrual cycle, that the power motive is associated with testosterone and, in women, with estradiol, and that the affiliation motive and progesterone are associated in different ways in men and NC women.     

Sex hormones and coronary disease: a review of the clinical studies

A male to female ration of coronary disease of 2:1 has been a consistent finding. This differential persists event when the classic risk factors for coronary disease--hypertension, smoking, obesity, diabetes, and hyperlipidemia--are controlled for gender. The most likely ultimate cause of this phenomenon is male-female differences in sex hormone patterns. Clinical studies in this area have either compared the sex hormone profiles of men and women with and without coronary disease or computed the relative prevalence of disease in populations that differ in their sex hormone patterns. In general, research findings have disputed the hypothesis that persons with coronary disease have low levels of a protective factor such as estrogen or progesterone and high levels of testosterone. Coronary disease patients actually have elevated estrogen levels and low testosterone levels; endogenous progesterone levels are normal before infarction but show a stress-mediated increase in the immediate postinfarction period. Findings of a low prevalence of coronary disease in premenopausal women, a loss of protection after menopause, and a low prevalence of coronary disease in men with cirrhosis-related hyperestrogenemia suggest that natural estrogens are antiatherogenic. The protective effect of pregnancy against myocardial infarction, despite concomitant potentially thrombogenic levels of estrogen at the time, seems to indicate that progesterone, whose levels are also extremely high during pregnancy, plays a major anti-infarction protective effect distinct from that of estrogen. Studies of women oral contraceptive (OC) users and men taking estrogens for brief periods have found that these exogenous hormones produce coronary thrombosis but not atherosclerosis. Finally, the finding of increased coronary disease risk in long-term OC users indicates that synthetic estrogens favor coronary atherosclerosis by suppressing natural estrogen and progesterone production.     

Dyadic associations between testosterone and relationship quality in couples

Testosterone is thought to be positively associated with “mating effort”, or the initiation and establishment of sexual relationships (Wingfield et al., 1990). Yet, because testosterone is negatively associated with nurturance (van Anders et al., 2011), high levels of testosterone may be incompatible with relationship maintenance. For instance, partnered men with high testosterone report lower relationship quality compared to partnered men with low testosterone (e.g., Booth and Dabbs, 1993). Findings for women are inconsistent, however, and even less is known about potential dyadic associations between testosterone and relationship quality in couples. In the current report, we assessed relationship satisfaction, commitment, and investment in heterosexual couples and tested the hypothesis that these aspects of relationship quality would be negatively associated with an individual's own and his/her partner's testosterone levels. We found that testosterone was in fact negatively associated with relationship satisfaction and commitment in both men and women. There was also evidence for dyadic associations: Participants' satisfaction and commitment were negatively related to their partners' levels of testosterone, and these associations were larger for women's than men's testosterone. Our findings are consistent with the idea that high testosterone may be incompatible with the maintenance of nurturant relationships. The current findings also provide some of the first evidence for dyadic associations between testosterone and relationship quality in couples, highlighting the interdependent nature of close relationship processes and the importance of considering this interdependence in social neuroendocrine research.     

Testosterone and androgen receptor gene polymorphism are associated with confidence and competitiveness in men

A contribution to a special issue on Hormones and Human Competition.Studies in non-human animals and humans have demonstrated the important role of testosterone in competitive interactions. Here, we investigated whether endogenous testosterone levels predict the decision to compete, in a design excluding spite as a motive underlying competitiveness. In a laboratory experiment with real monetary incentives, 181 men solved arithmetic problems, first under a noncompetitive piece rate, followed by a competition incentive scheme. We also assessed several parameters relevant to competition, such as risk taking, performance, and confidence in one's own performance. Salivary testosterone levels were measured before and 20 min after the competition task using mass spectrometry. Participants were also genotyped for the CAG repeat polymorphism of the androgen receptor gene, known to influence the efficacy of testosterone signaling in a reciprocal relationship to the number of CAG repeats. We observed a significant positive association between basal testosterone levels and the decision to compete, and that higher testosterone levels were related to greater confidence in one's own performance. Whereas the number of CAG repeats was not associated with the choice to compete, a lower number of CAG repeats was related to greater confidence in those who chose to compete, but this effect was attributable to the polymorphism's effect on actual performance. An increase in testosterone levels was observed following the experiment, and this increase varied with self-reported high-school math grades. We expand upon the latest research by documenting effects of the androgen system in confidence in one's own ability, and conclude that testosterone promotes competitiveness without spite.     

Is testosterone influencing explosive performance?

The primary objective of this study was to analyze the relationship between testosterone levels and vertical jumping performance in elite men and women athletes. The secondary objective was to verify whether testosterone levels and vertical jumping performance were different in men and women athletes and if those measurements were different between different athletic groups. Seventy (22 women and 48 men) elite athletes in track and field (sprinters), handball, volleyball, and soccer competing at national and international levels participated in the study. After 10 hours of fasting and 1 day of rest, blood samples were drawn from the antecubital vein for determining testosterone levels. Vertical jumping tests consisted of countermovement jumps conducted on a resistive platform connected to a digital timer. Resting testosterone levels in women were 9.5% of those of the men (respectively 0.62 +/- 0.06 ng.ml(-1) and 6.49 +/- 0.37 ng.ml(-1); p < 0.001). Countermovement jump performance was significantly different between women and men athletes, with women's jumping ability 86.3% of that of men (p < 0.001). A significant positive relationship was identified between testosterone levels and vertical jump performance when all data where considered (r = 0.61, p < 0.001, n = 70).     

The impact of assay quality and reference ranges on clinical decision making in the diagnosis of androgen disorders

The Endocrine Society guideline on Androgen Deficiency in Men emphasized that accurate measurement of testosterone (T) levels is central to the diagnosis of androgen deficiency. Similarly, accurate measurements of testosterone levels are important in the diagnosis of androgen disorders in women and children. However, the accuracy of direct radioimmunoassays for the measurement of total T levels has been questioned, especially in the low range prevalent in women, children, and androgen deficient men. Furthermore, reference limits for total and free T levels generated in a population-based sample of community-dwelling men, women, and children are not available. In the absence of standardized reference limits, the partitioning of total and free T levels into normal, low, or high values is fraught with substantial risk of misclassification. The recommendations for partitioning of individuals into those with low, normal, or high levels should be based on considerations of statistical distribution of total and free T values and the association of outcomes with varying degree of deviations from the reference limits. Ongoing efforts to generate population-based reference ranges for total and free testosterone levels in men and women will provide a framework for the interpretation of serum T levels and enhance the comprehensibility of circulating T values to practicing clinicians. These steps will facilitate the development of rational criteria for the diagnosis of androgen disorders in men, women, and children.     

Endogenous testosterone levels, mental rotation performance, and constituent abilities in middle-to-older aged men

Evidence from both human and animal studies suggests that gonadal steroids, such as testosterone, exert activational effects on adult spatial behavior. Endogenous testosterone levels decline gradually but variably as men age; it remains to be shown whether these decreases are associated with age-related declines in visuo-spatial performance or constituent abilities indicative of generalized age-related cognitive decline. Ninety-six healthy, community dwelling men aged between 38 and 69 years completed the Vandenberg and Kuse Mental Rotation Test (MRT) together with a battery of tests including processing speed, executive function, perceptual discrimination, working memory, and reaction time measures. Significant main effects of tertiles of calculated free testosterone levels (cEFT) were found on composite measures of processing speed, executive function, and perceptual discrimination ability in a subset of men aged over 50 years in age and crystallized intelligence controlled analyses; higher cEFT levels were associated with poorer performance. Hierarchical multiple regression and path analyses on the whole data set showed that cEFT levels negatively moderated processing speed performance, which in turn predicted both working memory and MRT performance with aging. Together these data suggest that age-related declines in endogenous testosterone levels in healthy middle-to-older aged men are not associated with generalized age-related cognitive decline.     

Hormonal predictors of women's extra-pair vs. in-pair sexual attraction in natural cycles: Implications for extended sexuality

In naturally cycling women, Roney and Simmons (2013) examined hormonal correlates of their desire for sexual contact. Estradiol was positively associated, and progesterone negatively associated, with self-reported desire. The current study extended these findings by examining, within a sample of 33 naturally cycling women involved in romantic relationships, hormonal correlates of sexual attraction to or interests in specific targets: women's own primary partner or men other than women's primary partner. Women's sexual interests and hormone (estradiol, progesterone, and testosterone) levels were assessed at two different time points. Whereas estradiol levels were associated with relatively greater extra-pair sexual interests than in-pair sexual interests, progesterone levels were associated with relatively greater in-pair sexual interests. Both hormones specifically predicted in-pair sexual desire, estradiol negatively and progesterone positively. These findings have implications for understanding the function of women's extended sexuality — their sexual proceptivity and receptivity outside the fertile phase, especially during the luteal phase.     

Does Testosterone Therapy Increase the Risk of Prostate Cancer?

ObjectiveTo review factors affecting use of testosterone therapy for hypogonadism including the persistent controversial link between testosterone therapy and prostate cancer.MethodsWe reviewed studies investigating the relationship between testosterone therapy and prostate cancer progression and summarized strategies for hypogonadism management and prostate monitoring.ResultsTrials of up to 36 months in length and longitudinal studies consistently fail to demonstrate an increased prostate cancer risk associated with increased testosterone levels. No evidence of an associated relationship between exogenous testosterone therapy and prostate cancer has emerged from clinical trials or adverse event reports. It does not appear that exogenous testosterone accumulates in the prostate or provokes major biologic change in the prostate gland. In addition, preliminary evidence indicates that low endogenous testosterone may confer an increased risk of prostate cancer.ConclusionsMounting evidence demonstrates that there is a lack of association between testosterone therapy and prostate cancer progression. Testosterone therapy may be prescribed for men for whom it was once not considered. Careful monitoring of patients with hypogonadism who are receiving testosterone therapy is imperative. Well-designed, large-scale prospective clinical trials are necessary to adequately address prostate safety in hypogonadal men receiving testosterone therapy. (Endocr Pract. 2008;14:904-911)     

Lack of evidence for meteorological effects on infradian dynamics of testosterone

Climatic factors are known to influence the endocrine system. Previous studies have shown that circannual seasonal variations of testosterone might be partly explained by changes in air temperature. Whether infradian variations are affected by meteorological factors is unknown. To analyze possible effects of meteorological parameters on infradian variations of salivary testosterone levels in both sexes, daily salivary testosterone levels were measured during 1 month in 14 men and 17 women. A correlation analysis between hormonal levels and selected meteorological parameters was performed. The results indicate that high testosterone levels are loosely associated with cold, sunny and dry weather in both sexes. However, only the correlations between testosterone and air temperature (men) and actual cloudiness (women) were statistically significant (p < 0,05). Although some correlations reached the level of statistical significance, the effects of selected meteorological parameters on salivary testosterone levels remain unclear. Further longer-term studies concentrating on air temperature, cloudiness and average relative humidity in relation to the sex hormone axis are needed.     

High-testosterone men reject low ultimatum game offers

The ultimatum game is a simple negotiation with the interesting property that people frequently reject offers of 'free' money. These rejections contradict the standard view of economic rationality. This divergence between economic theory and human behaviour is important and has no broadly accepted cause. This study examines the relationship between ultimatum game rejections and testosterone. In a variety of species, testosterone is associated with male seeking dominance. If low ultimatum game offers are interpreted as challenges, then high-testosterone men may be more likely to reject such offers. In this experiment, men who reject low offers ($5 out of $40) have significantly higher testosterone levels than those who accept. In addition, high testosterone levels are associated with higher ultimatum game offers, but this second finding is not statistically significant.