Life events are positively associated with luteinizing hormone in middle age adult men: role of cortisol as a third variable

Figures & data

Table 1. Sociodemographic and general characteristics of the studied population (n = 139).

Variable	n (%)
Educative level
Primary/Secondary School	111 (80)
University Degree	28 (20)
Marital status
1-Married	79 (57)
2-Divorced	28 (20)
3-Unmarried	28 (20)
4-Widower	4 (3)
Employment status
Employed	112 (80.5)
Unemployed	10 (7)
Retired	17 (12.5)
Smoking
1-No	121 (87)
2-Less than 20 cigarettes/day	12 (9)
3-More than 20 cigarettes/day	6 (4)
Other characteristics
Age (years)
Mean ± SD	57.8 ± 5.7
BMI (kg/m^2)
Mean ± SD	27.8 ± 4.04
Waist circumference (cm)
Mean ± SD	100.7 ± 11.5

BMI = body mass index; LE = life events.

Table 2. Hormone profile and life events in the studied population.

Variable
Serum cortisol (g/dl)	13.7 (5.7–29.4)
Salivary cortisol (nmol/l)	10.5 (8.5–39.7)
Total testosterone (ng/ml)	4.25 ± 1.65
LH (mUI/ml)	2.7 (0.94–9.7)
Adrenaline (pg/ml)	100 (90–130)
Noradrenaline (pg/ml)	132 (33–690)
LE weight	182 (0–760)
LE num	4.0 (017)

The results are expressed as mean ± SD or median (range) according to the distribution. LE-weight = sum of events; LE-num = number of events; TT = Total-testosterone; LH = luteotrophic hormone.

Figure 1. Correlation salivary cortisol and serum cortisol. The linearity between the two assays decreased at high concentrations of salivary cortisol (0.39 µg/dl or 10.5 nmol/l; r = 0.148, p = 0.426).

Figure 2. Interaction between life events, cortisol and total testosterone.

An ordinary least square (OLS) regression analysis considering cortisol and life events (LE) as continuous variables and including age, body mass index, waist circumference and smocking, as confounders, was performed. Positive correlation between LE number and total testosterone at high cortisol values (mean and mean + 1SD) was obtained.

Table 3. OLS regression model with LE number × cortisol interaction for testosterone.

	Coefficient	Standard error	t	p
Constant	8.68	2.000	4.32	0.00
Age	0.011	0.027	0.38	0.70
Waist	0.003	0.023	0.13	0.89
BMI	−0.150	0.067	−2.31	0.02
Smocking	−0.283	0.448	−0.63	0.52
LE num	−0.270	0.130	−2.05	0.04
Cortisol	−0.087	0.057	−1.53	0.13
LE num × Cortisol	0.022	0.009	2.42	0.02

R² = 0.2061, F(112) = 4.8460, p = 0.0002.

LE num = life events number.