Association between serum alpha-tocopherol and serum androgens and estrogens in older men.
There is evidence supporting a role for sex hormones in the etiology of prostate cancer. Supplementation with alpha-tocopherol reduced prostate cancer in the alpha-Tocopherol, beta-Carotene Prevention Study (ATBC Study). The objective of this study was to assess the relation of baseline levels of serum alpha-tocopherol and serum sex hormones in older men. A cross-sectional analysis of serum alpha-tocopherol and sex hormone concentrations was conducted within a subset of the ATBC Study. Serum was collected in the morning after an overnight fast at baseline from 204 men ages 50-69 years participating in the ATBC Study and free of prostate cancer. Hormones were measured by radioimmunoassay, and alpha-tocopherol was measured by high-performance liquid chromatography by standard procedures. Multivariate linear regression was used to evaluate the association of serum alpha-tocopherol with nine androgens and estrogens after controlling for age, body mass index, hormone assay batch, and serum cholesterol. Serum alpha-tocopherol was significantly inversely associated with serum androstenedione, testosterone, sex hormone-binding globulin, and estrone. The difference in hormone concentration per milligram of alpha-tocopherol was 1.8-2.6% for these four hormones. These results indicated that alpha-tocopherol is related to concentrations of several sex hormones in older men and may have implications for the observed protective effect of supplemental vitamin E in relation to prostate cancer in the ATBC Study.
Hartman
T J
TJ
Division of Clinical Sciences, National Cancer Institute, Bethesda, MD 20892, USA. th86d@nih.gov
Dorgan
J F
JF
Virtamo
J
J
Tangrea
J A
JA
Taylor
P R
PR
Albanes
D
D
D000368:Aged; D002851:Chromatography, High Pressure Liquid; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D012739:Gonadal Steroid Hormones / Q000097:blood*; D006801:Humans; D016014:Linear Models; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011471:Prostatic Neoplasms / Q000517:prevention & control*; D011863:Radioimmunoassay; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014810:Vitamin E / Q000097:blood*
D012739:Gonadal Steroid Hormones; D014810:Vitamin E