Circulating sex steroids, sex hormone-binding globulin, and longitudinal changes in forearm bone mineral density in postmenopausal women and men: The Tromsø study

Abstract

Bone loss during advancing age in women and men is partly the result of sex steroid deficiency. As the contribution of circulating sex steroids and sex hormone-binding globulin (SHBG) to bone loss remains uncertain, we sought to determine whether levels of sex steroids or SHBG predict change in bone mineral density (BMD) in women and men. A population-based study in the city of Tromsø of 6.5 years' duration (range 5.4-7.4) included 927 postmenopausal women aged 37-80 years and 894 men aged 25-80 years. Total estradiol and testosterone, calculated free levels, and SHBG were measured at baseline, and BMD change at the distal forearm was determined using BMD measurements in 1994-1995 and 2001. ..