New research in the American Journal of Human Biology has found that
young American men have higher levels of the steroid hormone
testosterone than their Chinese peers, a finding which could shed light
on differences in disease prevalence between the two countries.
The team examined differences in testosterone concentrations between
healthy young men from the United States and from Hong Kong. 365 young
men from the US and 299 Chinese men were recruited into the study and
analyzed for total (TT), free (FT) and bioavailable (Bio T) testosterone
concentrations.
The results revealed testosterone concentration peaked in both US and
Chinese men between 20 to 24 years of age. However, among those aged 18
to 24, American men were found to have higher total levels than Chinese
men, but not FT or Bio T.
These differences may be important in understanding different patterns
of diseases between Western and Asian populations, such as such as low
incidence of prostate cancer and high prevalence of diabetes in China.
