Searchable abstracts of presentations at key conferences in endocrinology
Endocrine Abstracts (2008) 16 P370

ECE2008 Poster Presentations Growth factors (15 abstracts)

Associations of anthropometric parameters with serum IGF-1, TSH, prolactin and testosterone levels

Nele Friedrich 1 , Antje Steveling 1 , Matthias Nauck 1 , Georg Brabant 2 , Henry Völzke 1 & Henri Wallaschofski 1


1Ernst-Moritz-Arndt University, Greifswald, Germany; 2Christie Hospital, Manchester, UK.


Background: Obesity is a major risk factor for the development of chronic diseases and a determinant of cardiovascular disease. Divergent associations between obesity and hormonal changes have been reported. The objective of the present study was to analyse the associations between different anthropometric measurements and serum hormone levels including insulin-like growth factor 1 (IGF-1), thyroid-stimulation hormone (TSH), prolactin, and testosterone.

Methods: A total of 2186 women and 2111 men aged 20–79 years from the population-based cross-sectional Study of Health in Pomerania (SHIP) were included in the analyses. Serum IGF-1, TSH, prolactin, and testosterone levels were determined by immunochemiluminescent procedures. Body height, weight and waist as well as hip circumferences were measured. Body mass index (BMI), waist-to-hip ratio (WHR), and waist to height ratio (WHtR) were calculated.

Results: Our analyses revealed negative associations between all considered anthropometric parameters and serum IGF-1 levels in women and men as well as serum testosterone levels in men. Furthermore, whereas in women anthropometric parameters except BMI and hip circumferences were positively associated to serum TSH and prolactin levels, no such associations were present in men.

Conclusion: Our results argue for interrelated hormone production and secretion associated with visceral fat. Furthermore, our analyses displayed that the use of visceral fat measurements like waist circumference, WHR and WHtR should be preferred for the assessment of associations between body fat and hormone levels.

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