ArticlePsychoneuroendocrinology2013
Genetic and environmental influences of daily and intra-individual variation in testosterone levels in middle-aged men.
Article in Psychoneuroendocrinology, 2013. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 11 papers.
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Who cites it
11 citing papers in PubMed, 18 citations in OpenAlex.
- Long-term endurance running training and testosterone daily variation in ageing men; a comparative cross-sectional study.Experimental physiology · 2026Article
- Positive day-to-day relationships between the cortisol and testosterone awakening responses in elite male athletes.Biology of sport · 2025Article
- The Influence of Sex and Sex-Steroid Hormones on Cerebellar Structure and Functional Connectivity Across Adulthood.Human brain mapping · 2025Article
- The influence of light and heavy training weeks on the cortisol and testosterone awakening responses of elite male judokas: is skeletal muscle damage a mediating factor?Biology of sport · 2024Article
- The association between serum testosterone and mortality among elderly men on hemodialysis.Journal of clinical laboratory analysis · 2018Article
- Interactive effects of testosterone and cortisol on hippocampal volume and episodic memory in middle-aged men.Psychoneuroendocrinology · 2018Article
- Challenges in Testosterone Measurement, Data Interpretation, and Methodological Appraisal of Interventional Trials.The journal of sexual medicine · 2016Review
- Genetic and Environmental Regulation on Longitudinal Change of Metabolic Phenotypes in Danish and Chinese Adult Twins.PloS one · 2016Article
- Article
- Interaction of APOE genotype and testosterone on episodic memory in middle-aged men.Neurobiology of aging · 2014Article
- When and when not to use testosterone for palliation in cancer care.Current oncology reports · 2014Review
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Authors and funding
13 authors at 7 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundTestosterone regulates numerous physiological processes, and evidence suggests that it plays a critical role in male aging. It has yet to be determined whether the heritability of testosterone varies in accordance with its diurnal rhythm. Similarly, it is unclear whether changes in testosterone level throughout the day are genetically influenced. The aim of the present study was to determine the degree to which genetic and environmental factors contribute to individual differences in testosterone throughout the day in middle-aged men.
methodsSaliva-based measures of free testosterone, sampled at multiple time-points both at-home and in-lab, were collected from 783 male twins (193 monozygotic pairs, 196 dizygotic pairs, 5 unpaired twins) as part of the Vietnam Era Twin Study of Aging (VETSA). The average age of participants was 55.9 years (SD=2.6).
resultsTestosterone levels declined substantially over the course of the day, with 32-39% of the change occurring in the first 30min after waking. Heritability estimates for specific time-points ranged from .02 to .39. The heritability of the average at-home and in-lab testosterone values were notably higher (.42 and .47 respectively). Daily rates of change showed some evidence of genetic influence, with heritability estimates ranging from .15 to .29, whereas there were no observable genetic influences on coefficients of variation.
conclusionsGenetic influences account for a significant proportion of the variance in average testosterone levels, while environmental factors account for the majority of intra-individual variability. These results highlight the need to explore both genetic and individual-specific environmental factors as determinants of free testosterone levels in aging men.
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