TY - JOUR
T1 - Multiple hormonal deficiencies in anabolic hormones are found in frail older women
T2 - The women's health and aging studies
AU - Cappola, Anne R.
AU - Xue, Qian Li
AU - Fried, Linda P.
N1 - Funding Information:
This research was supported by the National Institute on Aging (NIA) K23 AG19161, NIA contract N01-AG-1-2112, NIA R01-AG11703, and NIA R37-AG19905, and the Johns Hopkins Hospital and Johns Hopkins Bayview Medical Center General Clinical Research Center.
PY - 2009/2
Y1 - 2009/2
N2 - Background. Alterations in anabolic hormones are theorized to contribute to aging and frailty, with most studies focusing on the relationship between individual hormones and specific age-associated diseases. We hypothesized that associations with frailty would most likely manifest in the presence of deficits in multiple anabolic hormones. Methods. The relationships of serum levels of total IGF-1, DHEAS, and free testosterone (T) with frailty status (nonfrail, prefrail, or frail) were analyzed in 494 women aged 70-79 years enrolled in the Women's Health and Aging Studies I or II. Using multivariate polytomous regression, we calculated the odds of frailty for deficiency in each hormone (defined as the bottom quartile of the hormone) individually, as well as for a count of the hormones. Results. For each hormone, in adjusted analyses, those with the deficiency were more likely to be frail than those without the deficiency, although this did not achieve statistical significance (IGF-1: odds ratio [OR] 1.82, confidence interval [CI] 0.81-4.08; DHEAS: OR 1.68, CI 0.77-3.69; free T: OR 2.03, CI 0.89-4.64). Compared with those with no hormonal deficiencies, those with one deficiency were not more likely to be frail (OR 1.15, CI 0.49-2.68), whereas those with two or three deficiencies had a very high likelihood of being frail (OR 2.79, CI 1.06-7.32), in adjusted models. Conclusions. The absolute burden of anabolic hormonal deficiencies is a stronger predictor of frailty status than the type of hormonal deficiency, and the relationship is nonlinear. These analyses suggest generalized endocrine dysfunction in the frailty syndrome.
AB - Background. Alterations in anabolic hormones are theorized to contribute to aging and frailty, with most studies focusing on the relationship between individual hormones and specific age-associated diseases. We hypothesized that associations with frailty would most likely manifest in the presence of deficits in multiple anabolic hormones. Methods. The relationships of serum levels of total IGF-1, DHEAS, and free testosterone (T) with frailty status (nonfrail, prefrail, or frail) were analyzed in 494 women aged 70-79 years enrolled in the Women's Health and Aging Studies I or II. Using multivariate polytomous regression, we calculated the odds of frailty for deficiency in each hormone (defined as the bottom quartile of the hormone) individually, as well as for a count of the hormones. Results. For each hormone, in adjusted analyses, those with the deficiency were more likely to be frail than those without the deficiency, although this did not achieve statistical significance (IGF-1: odds ratio [OR] 1.82, confidence interval [CI] 0.81-4.08; DHEAS: OR 1.68, CI 0.77-3.69; free T: OR 2.03, CI 0.89-4.64). Compared with those with no hormonal deficiencies, those with one deficiency were not more likely to be frail (OR 1.15, CI 0.49-2.68), whereas those with two or three deficiencies had a very high likelihood of being frail (OR 2.79, CI 1.06-7.32), in adjusted models. Conclusions. The absolute burden of anabolic hormonal deficiencies is a stronger predictor of frailty status than the type of hormonal deficiency, and the relationship is nonlinear. These analyses suggest generalized endocrine dysfunction in the frailty syndrome.
KW - Aging
KW - DHEAS
KW - Elderly
KW - Frailty
KW - Hormones
KW - IGF
KW - Testosterone
KW - Women
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U2 - 10.1093/gerona/gln026
DO - 10.1093/gerona/gln026
M3 - Article
C2 - 19182229
AN - SCOPUS:64949188001
SN - 1079-5006
VL - 64
SP - 243
EP - 248
JO - Journals of Gerontology - Series A Biological Sciences and Medical Sciences
JF - Journals of Gerontology - Series A Biological Sciences and Medical Sciences
IS - 2
ER -