title: Imbalance of sex hormone levels in men with coronary artery disease.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Sex hormones are thought to play a key role in atherogenesis, but the available evidence is inconclusive, partly because of a lack of accuracy in measurement. The aim of the study was to investigate the potential role of sex hormones in coronary atherosclerosis.
  
  
  METHODS
  We prospectively applied a simple highly-sensitive method using solid-phase extraction followed by radioimmunoassay. Both phases were carried out using commercially available kits to determine levels of estradiol (E2). We also measured the levels of free testosterone (FT), dehydroepiandrosterone sulfate, luteinizing hormone, follicle-stimulating hormone, and progesterone in 236 consecutive male patients with angiographically-defined stable coronary artery disease and in 143 disease-free and age-matched controls.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The levels of highly-sensitive E2 and FT in patients and controls differed slightly in opposing directions, but neither difference reached statistical significance. However, the ratio of FT to highly-sensitive E2 in patients was significantly higher than in the controls (mean +/- SD; 2.50 +/- 1.89 versus 2.06 +/- 1.14, P = 0.018), and this difference remained significant after adjustments for age and body mass index had been made. Multiple regression analysis revealed that age, the association of diabetes, and the presence of coronary atherosclerosis were significantly and independently associated with the values of the FT/highly-sensitive E2 ratio. Other hormones examined did not differ significantly between the patients and the controls.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Highly-sensitive E2 measurement demonstrated a significant imbalance of FT to E2 in male patients with coronary artery disease, but individual sex hormone levels did not differ between the patients and the controls.
authors.affiliation: Department of Cardiology, Kanazawa Medical University, Uchinada, Japan. kajinami@kanazawa-med.ac.jp
authors.forename: Kouji
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Kajinami
authors.forename: Kenji
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Takeda
authors.forename: Noboru
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Takekoshi
authors.forename: Shinobu
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Matsui
authors.forename: Hiroichi
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Tsugawa
authors.forename: Seiyu
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Kanemitsu
authors.forename: Shinji
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Okubo
authors.forename: Michihiko
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Kitayama
authors.forename: Akihiro
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Fukuda
mesh_terms: D017023:Coronary Angiography; D003324:Coronary Artery Disease / Q000097:blood*; D012739:Gonadal Steroid Hormones / Q000097:blood*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011446:Prospective Studies; D011863:Radioimmunoassay; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity
chemical_list: D012739:Gonadal Steroid Hormones