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testosterone levels and men's health
Higher levels of the hormone testosterone can have significant health
benefits for some middle-aged men, according to a Penn State study.
"Men with higher testosterone seem to be less vulnerable to high blood pressure, heart attacks, frequent colds and obesity," says Dr. Alan Booth, professor of sociology and human development. "Also, they are more likely to rate their health as excellent or good rather than fair or poor. Studies show self ratings of health correlate highly with doctor's assessments. "The benefits of higher testosterone levels have a down side, however," Booth notes. "Some, but not all, men with elevated levels of testosterone are more likely to engage in behavior that negates the beneficial effects of testosterone." Those men with higher levels of testosterone are more inclined to smoke, drink alcohol excessively and indulge in risky behavior that leads to injury. The biggest detriment to health by far is the tendency for high testosterone men to smoke. The researchers studied testosterone and health in a sample of 4,393 men between the ages of Thirty-two and Forty-four who had served in the armed forces between 1965 and 1971. The men were interviewed and medically examined. Testosterone was measured in plasma from blood drawn at 8 a.m. Concentrations ranged from 53 nanograms per deciliter (ng/dl) to 1,500 with an average of 679. |
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Dr. Douglas A. Granger, assistant professor of biobehavioral health and director of Pennsylvania State's Behavioral Endocrinology Laboratory in the College of Health and Human Development; and Dr. David R. Johnson, professor of sociology at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, have published their work in the research paper, "Testosterone and Men's Health, in a recent issue of the Journal Of Behavioral Medicine. "Comparison of men with slightly below average levels of testosterone (400/ng/dl) with men with slightly above average levels (800 ng/dl) revealed significant differences in the indicators of health," Booth says. Men at the higher level were Forty-five percent less likely to have high blood pressure, Seventy-two percent less likely to have experienced a heart attack, Eight percent less likely to have 3 or more colds in a year, and forty-five percent less likely to rate their health as fair or poor. |
On the negative side, men at the higher level were Twenty-five percent more likely to report one or more injuries, Thirty-two percent more likely to imbibe 5 or more drinks in a single day and 151 percent more likely to smoke tabacco.
"We don't yet fully understand how testosterone benefits health or leads to behaviors detrimental to health," Booth says. "More studies are needed to discover the missing pieces to this puzzle.
What is clear is that men with higher testosterone levels are at higher risk for negative health outcomes. But there are many men with higher testosterone who don't engage in health risk behavior and who do realize testosterone-related health benefits."
Increasing men's awareness of their testosterone levels may be worthwhile in terms of health promotion and disease prevention efforts, say the researchers. Regular monitoring of testosterone levels would make it easier to optimize the sensitive balance between testosterone's positive and negative effects, especially if it is done as part of overall physical checkups.
Parents don't have to sit helplessly by when they suspect -- or know -- their child is using a performance-enhancing drug. They should find out why their child is interested in using drugs and where the pressure is coming from. Is he or she getting wrong information from peers or from somebody at the gym?
The controversy over drug use in athletics has also led to Senator John McCain offering help from a Legislative level. Major League Baseball and the International Olympic Committee are continuing investigations and seeking out possible reform to existing policies relating to the use of steroids and other drugs.
The toxicology report on Baltimore Orioles pitching prospect Steve Bechler released today implicates the use of the herbal supplement ephedra in his death, and underscores once more the dangers of ephedra use, particularly when combined with other risk factors.
Many physicians feel that some dietary supplements' should be considered drugs' because they contain known active ingredients, whereas dietary supplements' have little or no physiologic effects.
USA Football has joined with a group of the nation's leading public health, medical and sports organizations to support legislation that relates to the regulation of dietary supplements that contain steroid precursors like ephedra.
The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has made an announcement that a series of actions aimed at protecting US citizens from the potential grave risks associated with dietary supplements that contain ephedra.
Wadler, who is attending the ACSM Annual Meeting in St. Louis this week, said that the subject of steroid use in baseball peaked in 1998, when Mark McGwire admitted to the use of the testosterone precursor, androstenedione.
DEA And Illegal drugs Drug Prevention Program Steroid Precursors-Legislation Testosterone and Alzheimer's Disease Testosterone Gel Steroid Use Increasing In Competition Young People And Steroids
Recent studies suggest that steroid abuse among teenagers is on the rise. The study indicates that students at the 8th grade level (and even younger) are beginning to experiment with steroids with little understanding of their potential deadly side effects.
The average layperson might think age 10 a bit of a stretch. But according to several drug-use experts at The University of Montana, ergogenics aren't just for college and professional athletes. Their use starts as early as middle school and is common among high school athletes.
Proposed a warning label for all ephedra-containing dietary supplements. The proposed label warns about the risks of serious adverse events, including seizure, heart attack, stroke, and even death.
"We are not sure why women's testosterone elevation prior to competition is so much greater than it is in men. It is probably due to the fact that every day levels of testosterone are four times higher in men than they are in women.
Leading research scientists
are saying that the detection of EPO and HGH abuse is quite difficult because they appear only in very
very small quantities in body fluids. EPO increases oxygen uptake to the working
muscles, and HGH improves muscle growth.
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Scientists are increasingly concerned that sophisticated techniques for evading drug tests will make it difficult for testers to catch athletes using steroids and other drugs, especially at future athletic competitions when genetic-based enhancements are expected to be prevalent.