Urinary follicle stimulating hormone can be used as a biomarker to assess male reproductive function.
OBJECTIVE
To develop an algorithm for use in population-based studies to assess testicular function by measurements of total urinary follicle stimulating hormone (FSH).


METHODS
Total concentrations of urinary FSH were measured in a group of 44 men at the University of California, Davis (UCD) and were compared to FSH measurements in serum. On the basis of these and other published data, a urinary FSH value of >2 ng/mg creatinine (Cr) was selected as the cutoff point to identify men with elevated serum FSH ( > 12 IU/L) or low sperm counts ( < 20 million/mL).


RESULTS
The sensitivity and specificity of this algorithm for detecting elevated serum FSH in a group of 58 agricultural workers in the People' s Republic of China were 100% and 50%, respectively. The sensitivity and specificity of this algorithm for detecting low sperm counts in a population of 105 infertility patients at UCD were 58 % and 76 %, respectively.


CONCLUSIONS
This test may have particular value in identifying populations with no evidence of testicular toxicity, and in which labor-intensive semen studies may not be feasible.
Wang
X R
XR
School of Public Health, Nanjing Medical University, China.
Overstreet
J W
JW
Todd
H
H
Qiu
Q
Q
Yang
J H
JH
Wang
S Y
SY
Xu
X P
XP
Lasley
B L
BL
D015415:Biomarkers / Q000652:urine; D005640:Follicle Stimulating Hormone / Q000652:urine*; D006801:Humans; D007248:Infertility, Male / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000652:urine*; D008297:Male; D011237:Predictive Value of Tests; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity
D015415:Biomarkers; D005640:Follicle Stimulating Hormone