In an effort to understand trends in hormone levels that are occurring in the general U.S. population, investigators in the Hormonal and Reproductive Epidemiology Branch (HREB) measured several sex steroid hormones (testosterone, estradiol, androstanediol glucuronide) and sex hormone-binding globulin in sera from National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) participants. NHANES is a program of studies conducted by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in order to assess health in the U.S. population. The survey combines interview, physical examination, and laboratory components, and allows for investigator-initiated studies when surplus samples are available. HREB's most recent study using this data addressed trends in male hormone levels between the 1988-1991 and 1999-2004 survey populations. Future work in this area will involve examining associations between hormone levels and potential risk factors for testicular cancer.
For more information, contact Katherine McGlynn.