title: Racial Differences in Age-Related Variations of Testosterone Levels Among US Males: Potential Implications for Prostate Cancer and Personalized Medication.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The magnitude of the age-related declines in testosterone rather than levels measured at single point in time may be related to the genesis of prostate cancer (PCa). We examined age-related variations of testosterone levels among black and white males, which may provide important insights into racial disparities in PCa incidence and mortality.
  
  
  METHODS
  We analyzed data from the 1999-2004 National Health and Nutritional Examination Survey to compare age-related variations in the testosterone levels of 355 black and 631 white males.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Overall, between the ages of 12 and 15, black males had lower testosterone levels than white males. Testosterone levels increased rapidly with age and reached higher and earlier peak levels in black males compared to white males at 20-30 years of age. After reaching a peak level, testosterone levels declined earlier in blacks than in whites. Further analyses showed that black males had considerably higher levels of testosterone compared to white males aged 20-39 years after adjusting for covariates, including age, body mass index, cigarette smoking, physical activity, and waist circumference; however, no statistically significant differences were observed between the groups at any other age.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Our study revealed that testosterone levels in black males decrease substantially with increasing age compared to those in white males. This rapid drop in testosterone levels may contribute to racial disparities in PCa. Our findings also suggest that personalized medication for hormone replacement therapy may be necessary to avoid sudden drops in testosterone levels, particularly for black males.
authors: Department of Epidemiology, College of Public Health and Health Professions and College of Medicine, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, USA.
authors: Hui
authors: H
authors: Hu
authors: Department of Radiation Oncology, College of Medicine, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, USA.
authors: Folakemi T
authors: FT
authors: Odedina
authors: Division of Basic Pharmaceutical Sciences, College of Pharmacy & Pharmaceutical Sciences, Florida A& M University, Tallahassee, FL, USA.
authors: Romonia R
authors: RR
authors: Reams
authors: Department of Epidemiology, College of Public Health and Health Professions and College of Medicine, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, USA.
authors: Claudia T K
authors: CT
authors: Lissaker
authors: Department of Epidemiology, College of Public Health and Health Professions and College of Medicine, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, USA. xhxu@PHHP.UFL.EDU.
authors: Xiaohui
authors: X
authors: Xu
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D001741:Black or African American / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D017677:Age Distribution; D002648:Child; D054624:Health Status Disparities; D006306:Health Surveys; D020249:Hormone Replacement Therapy; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D057285:Precision Medicine; D011471:Prostatic Neoplasms / Q000208:ethnology*; D013739:Testosterone / Q000097:blood*; D014481:United States / Q000453:epidemiology; D044465:White People / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D013739:Testosterone
keywords: Prostate cancer; Racial disparity; Testosterone; Testosterone change