TY - JOUR
T1 - Association of serum α-tocopherol with sex steroid hormones and interactions with smoking
T2 - Implications for prostate cancer risk
AU - Mondul, Alison M.
AU - Rohrmann, Sabine
AU - Menke, Andy
AU - Feinleib, Manning
AU - Nelson, William G.
AU - Platz, Elizabeth A.
AU - Albanes, Demetrius
N1 - Funding Information:
Acknowledgment Funding: This is the 26th paper from the Hormone Demonstration Program funded by the Maryland Cigarette Restitution Fund at Johns Hopkins.
PY - 2011/6
Y1 - 2011/6
N2 - Background: Vitamin E may protect against prostate cancer, possibly only in smokers and, we hypothesize, through altered sex steroid hormones. A controlled trial in smokers showed that sex hormone levels were inversely associated with baseline serum α-tocopherol and decreased in response to vitamin E supplementation. The vitamin E-hormone relation is understudied in non-smokers. Methods: Serum sex steroid hormones and α-tocopherol were measured for 1,457 men in NHANES III. Multivariable-adjusted geometric mean hormone concentrations by α-tocopherol quintile were estimated. Results: We observed lower mean testosterone, estradiol, and SHBG concentrations with increasing serum α-tocopherol (Q1 = 5.5 and Q5 = 4.6 ng/ml, p-trend = 0.0007; Q1 = 37.8 and Q5 = 33.1 pg/ml, p-trend = 0.02; Q1 = 38.8 and Q5 = 30.6 pg/ml, p-trend = 0.05, respectively). Interactions between serum α-tocopherol and exposure to cigarette smoke for total testosterone, total estradiol, and SHBG were found with the inverse relation observed only among smokers. Conclusions: Results from this nationally representative, cross-sectional study indicate an inverse association between serum α-tocopherol and circulating testosterone, estradiol, and SHBG, but only in men who smoked. Our findings support vitamin E selectively influencing sex hormones in smokers and afford possible mechanisms through which vitamin E may impact prostate cancer risk.
AB - Background: Vitamin E may protect against prostate cancer, possibly only in smokers and, we hypothesize, through altered sex steroid hormones. A controlled trial in smokers showed that sex hormone levels were inversely associated with baseline serum α-tocopherol and decreased in response to vitamin E supplementation. The vitamin E-hormone relation is understudied in non-smokers. Methods: Serum sex steroid hormones and α-tocopherol were measured for 1,457 men in NHANES III. Multivariable-adjusted geometric mean hormone concentrations by α-tocopherol quintile were estimated. Results: We observed lower mean testosterone, estradiol, and SHBG concentrations with increasing serum α-tocopherol (Q1 = 5.5 and Q5 = 4.6 ng/ml, p-trend = 0.0007; Q1 = 37.8 and Q5 = 33.1 pg/ml, p-trend = 0.02; Q1 = 38.8 and Q5 = 30.6 pg/ml, p-trend = 0.05, respectively). Interactions between serum α-tocopherol and exposure to cigarette smoke for total testosterone, total estradiol, and SHBG were found with the inverse relation observed only among smokers. Conclusions: Results from this nationally representative, cross-sectional study indicate an inverse association between serum α-tocopherol and circulating testosterone, estradiol, and SHBG, but only in men who smoked. Our findings support vitamin E selectively influencing sex hormones in smokers and afford possible mechanisms through which vitamin E may impact prostate cancer risk.
KW - Alpha-Tocopherol
KW - Cross-sectional studies
KW - Gonadal steroid hormones
KW - Prostatic neoplasms
KW - Smoking
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U2 - 10.1007/s10552-011-9753-4
DO - 10.1007/s10552-011-9753-4
M3 - Article
C2 - 21424597
AN - SCOPUS:79956265709
SN - 0957-5243
VL - 22
SP - 827
EP - 836
JO - Cancer Causes and Control
JF - Cancer Causes and Control
IS - 6
ER -