SEX HORMONES AND ADIPOKINES IN HEALTHY PRE-MENOPAUSAL, POST-MENOPAUSAL AND ELDERLY WOMEN, AND IN AGE-MATCHED MEN: DATA FROM THE BRISIGHELLA HEART STUDY

Background: Sex hormones and adipokines seem to differently interact in both sexes at different ages. Aim: We aimed at comparatively evaluate the serum level of different adipokines and sex hormones in healthy non-pharmacologically treated pre-menopausal women, post-menopausal women and elderly women, and in age-matched men. Methods: From the database of the historical cohort of the Brisighella Heart Study we selected 199 adult healthy subjects (M: 89; F: 110), aged 62.5 ± 12.4 years. Men and women included in the age-class sub-groups were also matched for BMI, waist circumference, blood pressure, heart rate, fasting plasma glucose, plasma lipids. For all people we obtained the serum level of testosterone, estrone, dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEAS), leptin, adiponectin and ghrelin. Results: Leptin did not differ among various age classes in men, while pre-menopausal displayed significantly lower serum leptin than post-menopausal women (-6.7 ± 2.2, p = 0.036), but not than elderly women. Post-menopausal women had significantly higher serum leptin when compared with age-matched men (+13.1 ± 2.0, p < 0.001), as well as elderly women when compared with elderly men (+11.2 ± 2.3, p < 0.001). Adiponectin and ghrelin were similar in men and women at any age. At any age, women had significantly lower serum testosterone/estrone ratio than age-matched men (p always < 0.01). Serum DHEAS was significantly lower in adult-elderly men (-0.5 ± 0.1, p = 0.001) and in elderly men (-0.7 ± 0.1, p < 0.001) when compared to adult ones, and in post-menopausal (-0.4 ± 0.1, p = 0.04) and elderly women (-0.7 ± 0.1, p < 0.001) when compared to the pre-menopausal ones. The main predictors of adiponectin level are age in men (p = 0.27) and BMI in women (p = 0.003). The main predictors of leptin levels are BMI and the testosterone/estrone ratio in both sexes (p < 0.05). The testosterone/estrone ratio is also the main predictor of ghrelin levels in women (p = 0.006). Age is the main predictor of DHEAS level in both sexes (p < 0.001). Conclusion: Sex hormones and adipokines show specific interactions in different sexes and in different age-classes in a representative sample of adult healthy subjects.