title: The utility and dynamics of salivary sex hormone measurements in the National Social Life, Health, and Aging Project, Wave 2.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Sex hormones affect physical, mental, and social health, yet their role in mediating social effects on aging is understudied. To facilitate such analyses with the National Social Life, Health & Aging Project Wave 2, we summarize the conceptual background, collection protocols, laboratory assays, and data analysis strategies for biologically active (free) levels of testosterone, estradiol, progesterone, and dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA).
  
  
  METHODS
  Saliva from passive drool was collected from returning Wave 1 respondents and non-respondents as well as their partners during an in-home interview. Specimens were frozen and sent to Dresden LabService GmbH for duplicate assays of biologically active steroids using identical assay kits from National Social Life, Health, and Aging Project (NSHAP) Wave 1 (SaliCap, Catalog No. RE69995). Overall, 2,772 testosterone, 2,504 estradiol, 2,714 progesterone, and 2,800 DHEA measurements are publically available for Wave 2 analyses. Through a series of weighted linear regressions, all 4 steroids are compared by gender and age and to Wave 1 measurements.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Men had higher levels of both free testosterone and progesterone than women; women and men had the same levels of estradiol and DHEA. Both free testosterone and DHEA decreased with age. We also found significant wave effects for all 4 sex hormones.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  NSHAP Waves 1 and 2 are the first U.S. probability sample studies to measure these 4 salivary sex hormones simultaneously, providing individual profiles 5 years apart. Wave 2 data demonstrate differences by gender and trends by age that are similar to those found in other saliva-based and serum-based studies of free steroid levels. The differences between waves arising from the change in assay laboratory need to be adjusted in future longitudinal analyses using NSHAP Wave 1 and Wave 2 steroid data.
authors.affiliation: Department of Sociology, Center on Demography and Economics of Aging, Institute for Mind and Biology, kozloski@uchicago.edu.
authors.forename: Michael J
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Kozloski
authors.affiliation: Department of Health Studies.
authors.forename: L Philip
authors.initials: LP
authors.lastname: Schumm
authors.affiliation: Center on Demography and Economics of Aging, Institute for Mind and Biology, Department of Comparative Human Development, and Department of Psychology, University of Chicago, Illinois.
authors.forename: Martha K
authors.initials: MK
authors.lastname: McClintock
mesh_terms: D000367:Age Factors; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000375:Aging / Q000502:physiology; D003687:Dehydroepiandrosterone / Q000032:analysis; D004958:Estradiol / Q000032:analysis; D005260:Female; D012739:Gonadal Steroid Hormones / Q000032:analysis*; D006801:Humans; D007407:Interviews as Topic; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011374:Progesterone / Q000032:analysis; D012463:Saliva / Q000737:chemistry*; D012737:Sex Factors; D013048:Specimen Handling / Q000379:methods; D013739:Testosterone / Q000032:analysis; D014481:United States / Q000453:epidemiology
chemical_list: D012739:Gonadal Steroid Hormones; D013739:Testosterone; D003687:Dehydroepiandrosterone; D011374:Progesterone; D004958:Estradiol
keywords: DHEA; Estradiol; Progesterone; Saliva collection; Sex hormones; Testosterone.