• Glenn R Cunningham, Alisa J Stephens-Shields, Raymond C Rosen, Christina Wang, Susan S Ellenberg, Alvin M Matsumoto, Shalender Bhasin, Mark E Molitch, John T Farrar, David Cella, Elizabeth Barrett-Connor, Jane A Cauley, Denise Cifelli, Jill P Crandall, Kristine E Ensrud, Laura Fluharty, Thomas M Gill, Cora E Lewis, Marco Pahor, Susan M Resnick, Thomas W Storer, Ronald S Swerdloff, Stephen Anton, Shehzad Basaria, Susan Diem, Vafa Tabatabaie, Xiaoling Hou, and Peter J Snyder.
• Division of Diabetes, Endocrinology and Metabolism (G.R.C.), Baylor College of Medicine and Baylor St. Luke's Medical Center, Houston, Texas 77030; Center for Clinical Epidemiology & Biostatistics (A.J.S., J.T.F., D.C., L.F.), Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19104; New England Research Institutes, Inc. (R.C.R.), Watertown, Massachusetts 02472; Division of Endocrinology (C.W., R.S.S.), Harbor-University of California at Los Angeles Medical Center and Los Angeles Biomedical Research Institute, Torrance, California 90502; Department of Biostatistics and Epidemiology (S.S.E., X.H.), Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19104; Geriatric Research, Education, and Clinical Center, Department of Veterans Affairs Puget Sound Health Care System (A.M.M.), and Division of Gerontology and Geriatric Medicine, Department of Internal Medicine, University of Washington School of Medicine, Seattle, Washington 98108; Research Program in Men's Health, Aging and Metabolism (S.B., S.B.), Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts 02115; Division of Endocrinology, Metabolism and Molecular Medicine (M.E.M.), Northwestern University, Feinberg School of Medicine, Chicago, Illinois 60611; Department of Medical Social Sciences (D.C.), Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, Chicago, Illinois 60611; Division of Epidemiology, Department of Family and Preventative Medicine (E.B.), University of California San Diego School of Medicine, La Jolla, California 92093; Department of Epidemiology (J.A.C.), University of Pittsburgh, Graduate School of Public Health, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15261; Divisions of Endocrinology and Geriatrics (J.P.C., V.T.), Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, New York 10461; Department of Medicine (K.E.E., S.D.), Division of Epidemiology and Community Health, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minnesota 55415; Minneapolis
• J. Clin. Endocrinol. Metab. 2015 Mar 1;100(3):1146-55.

ContextThe prevalence of sexual dysfunction, low vitality, and poor physical function increases with aging, as does the prevalence of low total and free testosterone (TT and FT) levels. However, the relationship between sex hormones and age-related alterations in older men is not clear.ObjectiveTo test the hypotheses that baseline serum TT, FT, estradiol (E2), and sex hormone-binding globulin (SHBG) levels are independently associated with sexual function, vitality, and physical function in older symptomatic men with low testosterone levels participating in the Testosterone Trials (TTrials).DesignCross-sectional study of baseline measures in the TTrials.SettingThe study was conducted at 12 sites in the United States.ParticipantsThe 788 TTrials participants were ≥ 65 years and had evidence of sexual dysfunction, diminished vitality, and/or mobility disability, and an average of two TT < 275 ng/dL.InterventionsNone.Main Outcome MeasuresQuestion 4 of Psychosocial Daily Questionnaire (PDQ-Q4), the FACIT-Fatigue Scale, and the 6-minute walk test.ResultsBaseline serum TT and FT, but not E2 or SHBG levels had small, but statistically significant associations with validated measures of sexual desire, erectile function, and sexual activity. None of these hormones was significantly associated within or across trials with FACIT-Fatigue, PHQ-9 Depression or Physical Function-10 scores, or gait speed.ConclusionsFT and TT levels were consistently, independently, and positively associated, albeit to a small degree, with measures of sexual desire, erectile function, and sexual activity, but not with measures of vitality or physical function in symptomatic older men with low T who qualified for the TTrials.

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