title: Circulating androgens and SHBG during the normal menstrual cycle in two ethnic populations.
abstract: The objective of this study was to study possible ethnic differences in steroid hormones and sex hormone-binding globulin (SHBG) during the menstrual cycle. Serum levels of the ovarian steroids estradiol (E2) and progesterone (P) and of follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH), luteinizing hormone (LH), SHBG, dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA) and testosterone (T-ria) were all measured by immunoassay during the menstrual cycle in 15 Swedish and 11 West Asian regularly menstruating women. Testosterone (T-ms) was also measured by LC-MS/MS and so were 4-androstene-3,17-dione (A-4) and 17-alpha-hydroxyprogesterone (17-OHP). There were no ethnic differences in levels of ovarian steroids, gonadotrophins, A-4, 17-OHP and T-ms. DHEA were significantly higher and SHBG significantly lower in West Asian than in Swedish women. Surprisingly, T-ria was significantly higher in West Asian than in Swedish women and higher than T-ms (47% in Swedish and 107% in West Asian women). The difference (T-ria - T-ms) showed strong positive correlations to DHEA in the total and in West Asian but not in Swedish women, indicating an influence of DHEA/DHEAS metabolites on the T-ria results. In conclusion, ethnic differences in cross reacting steroids may cause erroneous results in one ethnic group by a steroid immunoassay having reasonable specificity in another. The reasons for the lower SHBG and the higher DHEA levels in West Asian women are not known. The results raise the question about establishing different reference values for certain analytes in different ethnic groups.
authors.affiliation: a Department of Dental Medicine, Section for Orofacial Pain and Jaw Function and the Scandinavian Center for Orofacial Neurosciences (SCON) , Karolinska Institutet , Huddinge , Sweden.
authors.forename: Taraneh
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Rezaii
authors.affiliation: b Division of Clinical Chemistry, Department of Laboratory Medicine , Karolinska Institutet , Stockholm , Sweden.
authors.forename: Thomas P
authors.initials: TP
authors.lastname: Gustafsson
authors.affiliation: b Division of Clinical Chemistry, Department of Laboratory Medicine , Karolinska Institutet , Stockholm , Sweden.
authors.forename: Magnus
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Axelson
authors.affiliation: b Division of Clinical Chemistry, Department of Laboratory Medicine , Karolinska Institutet , Stockholm , Sweden.
authors.forename: Leyla
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Zamani
authors.affiliation: a Department of Dental Medicine, Section for Orofacial Pain and Jaw Function and the Scandinavian Center for Orofacial Neurosciences (SCON) , Karolinska Institutet , Huddinge , Sweden.
authors.forename: Malin
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Ernberg
authors.affiliation: c Department of Women's and Children's Health, Division of Obstetrics and Gynecology , Karolinska Institutet , Stockholm , Sweden.
authors.forename: Angelica L
authors.initials: AL
authors.lastname: Hirschberg
authors.affiliation: b Division of Clinical Chemistry, Department of Laboratory Medicine , Karolinska Institutet , Stockholm , Sweden.|c Department of Women's and Children's Health, Division of Obstetrics and Gynecology , Karolinska Institutet , Stockholm , Sweden.
authors.forename: Kjell A M
authors.initials: KA
authors.lastname: Carlström
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000735:Androstenedione / Q000097:blood*; D044466:Asian People; D003687:Dehydroepiandrosterone / Q000097:blood*; D019314:Dehydroepiandrosterone Sulfate / Q000097:blood*; D004958:Estradiol / Q000097:blood; D005260:Female; D005640:Follicle Stimulating Hormone / Q000097:blood; D006801:Humans; D007118:Immunoassay / Q000592:standards; D007986:Luteinizing Hormone / Q000097:blood; D008597:Menstrual Cycle / Q000097:blood / Q000208:ethnology; D012016:Reference Values; D012738:Sex Hormone-Binding Globulin / Q000378:metabolism*; D013739:Testosterone / Q000097:blood*; D044465:White People
chemical_list: D012738:Sex Hormone-Binding Globulin; D013739:Testosterone; D000735:Androstenedione; D003687:Dehydroepiandrosterone; D004958:Estradiol; D019314:Dehydroepiandrosterone Sulfate; D007986:Luteinizing Hormone; D005640:Follicle Stimulating Hormone
keywords: Dehydroepiandrosterone; LC-MS/MS; SHBG; ethnic difference; immunoassay; menstrual cycle; testosterone