title: Estimating age-specific trends in circulating testosterone and sex hormone-binding globulin in males and females across the lifespan.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Age-specific trends of serum testosterone and sex hormone-binding globulin across the full lifespan have not been reported.
  
  
  METHODS
  We deduced age-specific trends in serum testosterone and sex hormone-binding globulin in males and females between ages 10 and 90 from a large sample of consecutive results from a single large pathology laboratory. Coded results of 110,712 consecutive blood samples requesting serum testosterone over seven years (2007-2013) comprising blood testosterone, sex hormone-binding globulin and calculated free testosterone together with gender and age were analysed create smoothed age-specific centiles (2.5%, 5%, 25%, 50%, 75%, 95%, 97.5%) for males and females.
  
  
  RESULTS
  These identified the pubertal increases in serum testosterone in males peaking at 20 years of age and remaining stable thereafter until the eighth decade. In females, circulating testosterone peaked in late adolescence and declined gradually over the next two decades but remained stable across menopause and beyond. After early childhood, serum sex hormone-binding globulin declines to a nadir in males at the age of 20 years and remains stable till the sixth decade with a gradual, progressive rise thereafter. In females, the sex hormone-binding globulin nadir is reached earlier with levels rising gradually and progressively with age thereafter and accelerating after the age of 70 years. Females also exhibit a second sex hormone-binding globulin peak during reproductive ages reflected only in upper centiles due to effects of pregnancy and oral contraceptive use in a significant minority of females.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  This large sample of clinical data provides a comprehensive profile of androgen status across the lifespan from early adolescence to late old age.
authors.affiliation: Andrology Department, Concord Hospital, NSW, Australia ANZAC Research Institute, University of Sydney, Concord Hospital, NSW, Australia djh@anzac.edu.au.
authors.forename: David J
authors.initials: DJ
authors.lastname: Handelsman
authors.affiliation: Melbourne Pathology, Collingwood, Victoria, Australia.
authors.forename: Ken
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Sikaris
authors.affiliation: Andrology Department, Concord Hospital, NSW, Australia.
authors.forename: Lam P
authors.initials: LP
authors.lastname: Ly
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D002648:Child; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012738:Sex Hormone-Binding Globulin / Q000378:metabolism*; D013739:Testosterone / Q000097:blood*; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D012738:Sex Hormone-Binding Globulin; D013739:Testosterone
keywords: Testosterone; assay evaluation; free testosterone; sex hormone-binding globulin