title: Body fatness and sex steroid hormone concentrations in US men: results from NHANES III.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Obesity is associated with a variety of chronic diseases, including cancer, which may partly be explained by its influence on sex steroid hormone concentrations. Whether different measures of obesity, i.e., body mass index (BMI), waist circumference, and percent body fat were differentially associated with circulating levels of sex steroid hormones was examined in 1,265 men, aged 20-90+ years old, attending the morning examination session of the Third National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES III).
  
  
  METHODS
  Serum hormones were measured by immunoassay. Weight, height, and waist circumference were measured by trained staff. Percent body fat was estimated from bioelectrical impedance. Multivariate linear regression was used to estimate associations between body fatness measures and hormone levels.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Total and free testosterone and sex hormone binding globulin concentrations decreased, whereas total and free estradiol increased with increasing BMI, waist circumference, and percent body fat (all p trend < 0.05). The magnitude of change in these hormones was similar for a one-quartile increase in each body fatness measure.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Measured BMI, waist circumference, and percent body fat led to similar inferences about their association with hormone levels in men.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Social and Preventive Medicine, University of Zurich, Hirschengraben 84, 8001, Zürich, Switzerland. sabine.rohrmann@ifspm.uzh.ch
authors.forename: Sabine
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Rohrmann
authors.forename: Meredith S
authors.initials: MS
authors.lastname: Shiels
authors.forename: David S
authors.initials: DS
authors.lastname: Lopez
authors.forename: Nader
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Rifai
authors.forename: William G
authors.initials: WG
authors.lastname: Nelson
authors.forename: Norma
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Kanarek
authors.forename: Eliseo
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Guallar
authors.forename: Andy
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Menke
authors.forename: Corinne E
authors.initials: CE
authors.lastname: Joshu
authors.forename: Manning
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Feinleib
authors.forename: Siobhan
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Sutcliffe
authors.forename: Elizabeth A
authors.initials: EA
authors.lastname: Platz
mesh_terms: D000273:Adipose Tissue / Q000378:metabolism*; D000328:Adult; D015992:Body Mass Index; D004958:Estradiol / Q000097:blood; D012739:Gonadal Steroid Hormones / Q000097:blood*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009749:Nutrition Surveys; D009765:Obesity / Q000097:blood*; D013739:Testosterone / Q000097:blood; D014481:United States
chemical_list: D012739:Gonadal Steroid Hormones; D013739:Testosterone; D004958:Estradiol