title: Estradiol and inflammatory markers in older men.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Aging is characterized by a mild proinflammatory state. In older men, low testosterone levels have been associated with increasing levels of proinflammatory cytokines. It is still unclear whether estradiol (E2), which generally has biological activities complementary to testosterone, affects inflammation.
  
  
  METHODS
  We analyzed data obtained from 399 men aged 65-95 yr enrolled in the Invecchiare in Chianti study with complete data on body mass index (BMI), serum E2, testosterone, IL-6, soluble IL-6 receptor, TNF-alpha, IL-1 receptor antagonist, and C-reactive protein. The relationship between E2 and inflammatory markers was examined using multivariate linear models adjusted for age, BMI, smoking, physical activity, chronic disease, and total testosterone.
  
  
  RESULTS
  In age-adjusted analysis, log (E2) was positively associated with log (IL-6) (r = 0.19; P = 0.047), and the relationship was statistically significant (P = 0.032) after adjustments for age, BMI, smoking, physical activity, chronic disease, and serum testosterone levels. Log (E2) was not significantly associated with log (C-reactive protein), log (soluble IL-6 receptor), or log (TNF-alpha) in both age-adjusted and fully adjusted analyses.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  In older men, E2 is weakly positively associated with IL-6, independent of testosterone and other confounders including BMI.
authors.affiliation: Department of Internal Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, Section of Geriatrics, University Hospital of Parma, Parma, Italy. marcellomaggio2001@yahoo.it
authors.forename: Marcello
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Maggio
authors.forename: Gian Paolo
authors.initials: GP
authors.lastname: Ceda
authors.forename: Fulvio
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Lauretani
authors.forename: Stefania
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Bandinelli
authors.forename: E Jeffrey
authors.initials: EJ
authors.lastname: Metter
authors.forename: Andrea
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Artoni
authors.forename: Elisa
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Gatti
authors.forename: Carmelinda
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Ruggiero
authors.forename: Jack M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Guralnik
authors.forename: Giorgio
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Valenti
authors.forename: Shari M
authors.initials: SM
authors.lastname: Ling
authors.forename: Shehzad
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Basaria
authors.forename: Luigi
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Ferrucci
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000375:Aging / Q000097:blood; D015415:Biomarkers / Q000097:blood*; D015992:Body Mass Index; D002097:C-Reactive Protein / Q000032:analysis; D004958:Estradiol / Q000097:blood*; D006801:Humans; D007249:Inflammation / Q000097:blood*; D018836:Inflammation Mediators / Q000097:blood; D053590:Interleukin 1 Receptor Antagonist Protein / Q000097:blood; D015850:Interleukin-6 / Q000097:blood; D008297:Male; D014409:Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha / Q000097:blood
chemical_list: D015415:Biomarkers; D018836:Inflammation Mediators; D053590:Interleukin 1 Receptor Antagonist Protein; D015850:Interleukin-6; D014409:Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha; D004958:Estradiol; D002097:C-Reactive Protein