Sex Hormones and Physical Function Among the Chinese Oldest-old and Centenarian Women

Overview

Journal J Transl Med

Publisher Biomed Central

Specialties Biomedical Engineering
General Medicine

Date 2022 Jul 28

PMID 35902963

Authors

Qiao Zhu

Ping Ping

Pei Zhang

Chaoxue Ning

Yali Zhao

Yao Yao

Xiubing Li

Shihui Fu

Affiliations

Soon will be listed here.

Abstract

Background: Physical independence is crucial for overall health in the elderly individuals. The life expectancy of women has been shown to be higher than that of men, which is also known as the "male-female health-survival paradox". Sex hormones may be one of the explanations. However, the relationships between sex hormones and physical function remain unclear in the elderly females. This study was designed to explore these relationships among the Chinese oldest-old and centenarian women.

Methods: Data from 1226 women were obtained from the China Hainan Centenarian Cohort Study. Home interviews, physical examinations and blood analyses were conducted using standardized procedures. Variables including age, Han ethnicity, illiteracy, smoker, drinker, estradiol (E2), testosterone (T), follicle-stimulating hormone, and luteinizing hormone were used in the multivariate logistic and linear regression analyses.

Results: In all the participants, age [beta (95% confidence interval): - 0.84 (- 0.98, - 0.71)] and E2 levels [beta (95% confidence interval): - 0.22 (- 0.28, - 0.17)] were negatively associated with activities of daily living (ADLs) in the multivariate linear regression analyses (P < 0.05 for all). We also observed significantly negative associations of age [odds ratio (95% confidence interval): 0.90 (0.88, 0.91)] and E2 levels [odds ratio (95% confidence interval): 0.98 (0.98, 0.99)] with physical normality in the multivariate logistic regression analyses (P < 0.05 for all). Age and E2 levels gradually decreased with increases in the ADL quartiles across all the participants (P < 0.05 for all).

Conclusions: This study demonstrated that E2 levels were negatively associated with physical function among the Chinese oldest-old and centenarian women.

Citing Articles

Impact of lifestyle and psychological resilience on survival among the oldest-old in China: a cohort study.

Cai J, Gao Y, Hu T, Zhou L, Jiang H Front Public Health. 2024; 11:1329885.

PMID: 38169738 PMC: 10758442. DOI: 10.3389/fpubh.2023.1329885.

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