Correlation between testosterone and the inflammatory marker soluble interleukin-6 receptor in older men.

Abstract

An age-associated decline in testosterone (T) levels and an increase in proinflammatory cytokines contribute to chronic diseases in older men. Whether and how these changes are related is unclear. We hypothesized that T and inflammatory markers are negatively correlated in older men. This was a cross-sectional study. A population-based sample of older men was studied. After excluding participants taking glucocorticoids or antibiotics or those with recent hospitalization, 467 men, aged 65 yr or older, had complete determinations of total T, bioavailable T, SHBG, albumin, IL-6, soluble IL-6 receptor (sIL-6r), TNF-alpha, IL-1beta, and C-reactive protein. After adjusting for potential confounders, sIL-6r was significantly and inversely correlated with total T (r = -0.20; P < 0.001) and bioavailable T (r = -0.12; P < 0.05). T was not correlated with any other inflammatory marker. These preliminary findings suggest an inverse relationship between T and sIL-6r. Longitudinal studies are needed to establish the causality of this association.