Dataset Information

Testosterone levels are negatively associated with fatherhood [corrected] in males, but positively related to offspring count in fathers.

ABSTRACT: Variation in testosterone (T) is thought to affect the allocation of effort between reproductive and parenting strategies. Here, using a large sample of elderly American men (n = 754) and women (n = 669) we examined the relationship between T and self-reported parenthood, as well as the relationship between T and number of reported children. Results supported previous findings from the literature, showing that fathers had lower T levels than men who report no children. Furthermore, we found that among fathers T levels were positively associated with the number of children a man reports close to the end of his lifespan. Results were maintained when controlling for a number of relevant factors such as time of T sampling, participant age, educational attainment, BMI, marital status and reported number of sex partners. In contrast, T was not associated with either motherhood or the number of children women had, suggesting that, at least in this sample, T does not influence the allocation of effort between reproductive and parenting strategies among women. Findings from this study contribute to the growing body of literature suggesting that, among men, pair bonding and paternal care are associated with lower T levels, while searching and acquiring sex partners is associated with higher T levels.

SUBMITTER: Pollet TV

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3616053 | biostudies-literature | 2013

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

ACCESS DATA

Publications

Testosterone levels are negatively associated with fatherhood [corrected] in males, but positively related to offspring count in fathers.

Pollet Thomas V TV Cobey Kelly D KD van der Meij Leander L

PloS one 20130403 4

Variation in testosterone (T) is thought to affect the allocation of effort between reproductive and parenting strategies. Here, using a large sample of elderly American men (n = 754) and women (n = 669) we examined the relationship between T and self-reported parenthood, as well as the relationship between T and number of reported children. Results supported previous findings from the literature, showing that fathers had lower T levels than men who report no children. Furthermore, we found that ...[more]

PMID: 23573228

Similar Datasets

Project description:Background It has been reported for several years that polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) could disturb human endocrine function. However, there is still a short of consistent conclusion about the relationship between PAH exposure and levels of sexual hormones. The aim of our study is to explore whether exposure to PAHs and how PAHs affect the levels of serum testosterone (T) and estradiol (E2) in adults, hoping to fulfill the knowledge gap. Materials and methods This study included adults aged 20 and above who participated in the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) from 2011 to 2016. We included 10 PAH metabolites in this study. The levels of urinary PAH metabolites were log-transformed and divided into quartiles. The associations between PAH metabolites and both serum T levels of males and E2 levels of females were investigated using multivariate regression models. We furtherly calculated PAHs scores by sum of ranks across 10 PAHs metabolites, which represented the exposure levels of PAHs mixtures, and the association between PAHs scores and serum T and E2 levels were analyzed. Results A total of 4,654 subjects were included in this study, including 2,460 males and 2,194 females. After adjusting for confounders, 2-hydroxynapthalene and 3-hydroxyfluorene were positively associated with serum T levels of males (p-value for trend=0.047, and p-value for trend=0.006, respectively), while 1-hydroxyphenanthrene was positively associated with serum E2 levels of females (p-value for trend=0.013). In the adjusted models, no significant association was found between PAHs scores and either T levels of males or E2 levels of females (p-value for trend=0.615, and p-value for trend=0.241, respectively). Conclusions This study showed urinary 2-hydroxynapthalene and 3-hydroxyfluorene were associated with increased T levels of males, and urinary 1-hydroxyphenanthrene was associated with increased E2 levels of females. The observed association indicated disrupting effects of PAH exposure on reproductive health.

Project description:BackgroundExperimental studies suggest that exposures may impact respiratory health across generations via epigenetic changes transmitted specifically through male germ cells. Studies in humans are, however, limited. We aim to identify epigenetic marks in offspring associated with father's preconception smoking.MethodsWe conducted epigenome-wide association studies (EWAS) in the RHINESSA cohort (7-50 years) on father's any preconception smoking (n = 875 offspring) and father's pubertal onset smoking < 15 years (n = 304), using Infinium MethylationEPIC Beadchip arrays, adjusting for offspring age, own smoking and maternal smoking. EWAS of maternal and offspring personal smoking were performed for comparison. Father's smoking-associated dmCpGs were checked in subpopulations of offspring who reported no personal smoking and no maternal smoking exposure.ResultsFather's smoking commencing preconception was associated with methylation of blood DNA in offspring at two cytosine-phosphate-guanine sites (CpGs) (false discovery rate (FDR) < 0.05) in PRR5 and CENPP. Father's pubertal onset smoking was associated with 19 CpGs (FDR < 0.05) mapped to 14 genes (TLR9, DNTT, FAM53B, NCAPG2, PSTPIP2, MBIP, C2orf39, NTRK2, DNAJC14, CDO1, PRAP1, TPCN1, IRS1 and CSF1R). These differentially methylated sites were hypermethylated and associated with promoter regions capable of gene silencing. Some of these sites were associated with offspring outcomes in this cohort including ever-asthma (NTRK2), ever-wheezing (DNAJC14, TPCN1), weight (FAM53B, NTRK2) and BMI (FAM53B, NTRK2) (p < 0.05). Pathway analysis showed enrichment for gene ontology pathways including regulation of gene expression, inflammation and innate immune responses. Father's smoking-associated sites did not overlap with dmCpGs identified in EWAS of personal and maternal smoking (FDR < 0.05), and all sites remained significant (p < 0.05) in analyses of offspring with no personal smoking and no maternal smoking exposure.ConclusionFather's preconception smoking, particularly in puberty, is associated with offspring DNA methylation, providing evidence that epigenetic mechanisms may underlie epidemiological observations that pubertal paternal smoking increases risk of offspring asthma, low lung function and obesity.

Project description:Concern persists over endocrine-disrupting effects of persistent organic pollutants (POPs) on human growth and sexual maturation. Potential effects of toxicant exposures on testosterone levels during puberty are not well characterized.In this study we evaluated the relationship between toxicants [polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), dichlorodiphenyldichloroethylene (p,p´-DDE), hexachlorobenzene (HCB), and lead] and testosterone levels among 127 Akwesasne Mohawk males 10 to < 17 years of age with documented toxicant exposures.Data were collected between February 1996 and January 2000. Fasting blood specimens were collected before breakfast by trained Akwesasne Mohawk staff. Multivariable regression models were used to estimates associations between toxicants and serum testosterone, adjusted for other toxicants, Tanner stage, and potential confounders.The sum of 16 PCB congeners (?16PCBs) that were detected in ? 50% of the population was significantly and negatively associated with serum testosterone levels, such that a 10% change in exposure was associated with a 5.6% decrease in testosterone (95% CI: -10.8, -0.5%). Of the 16 congeners, the more persistent ones (?8PerPCBs) were related to testosterone, whereas the less persistent ones, possibly reflecting more recent exposure, were not. When PCB congeners were subgrouped, the association was significant for the sum of eight more persistent PCBs (5.7% decrease; 95% CI: -11, -0.4%), and stronger than the sum of six less persistent congeners (3.1% decrease; 95% CI: -7.2, 0.9%). p,p´-DDE was positively but not significantly associated with serum testosterone (5.2% increase with a 10% increase in exposure; 95% CI: -0.5, 10.9%). Neither lead nor HCB was significantly associated with testosterone levels.Exposure to PCBs, particularly the more highly persistent congeners, may negatively influence testosterone levels among adolescent males. The positive relationship between p,p´-DDE and testosterone indicates that not all POPs act similarly.Schell LM, Gallo MV, Deane GD, Nelder KR, DeCaprio AP, Jacobs A; Akwesasne Task Force on the Environment. 2014. Relationships of polychlorinated biphenyls and dichlorodiphenyldichloroethylene (p,p´-DDE) with testosterone levels in adolescent males. Environ Health Perspect 122:304-309;?http://dx.doi.org/10.1289/ehp.1205984.

Dataset Information

Testosterone levels are negatively associated with fatherhood [corrected] in males, but positively related to offspring count in fathers.

Publications

Testosterone levels are negatively associated with fatherhood [corrected] in males, but positively related to offspring count in fathers.

Similar Datasets

OmicsDI is part of the ELIXIR infrastructure

Tweets