Low Estradiol Levels and Cognitive Function

Researchers writing in the medical journal Neurobiology of Aging, say that “Older women with low estradiol levels were more likely to experience decline in global cognitive function and verbal memory, and a similar trend was observed for verbal memory in men.”

Yaffe K, Barnes D, Lindquist K, Cauley J, Simonsick EM, Penninx B, Satterfield S, Harris T, Cummings SR. Endogenous sex hormone levels and risk of cognitive decline in an older biracial cohort. Neurobiol Aging. 2007 Feb;28(2):171-8.
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Exercise and Menopausal Symptoms

Researchers writing in the British Journal of General Practice say that their study “suggest(s) a positive association between somatic and psychological dimensions of health-related quality of life and participation in regular exercise. Women with BMI scores in the normal range reported lower vasomotor symptom scores and better health-related quality of life scores than heavier women.”

Daley A, Macarthur C, Stokes-Lampard H, McManus R, Wilson S, Mutrie N. Exercise participation, body mass index, and health-related quality of life in women of menopausal age. Br J Gen Pract. 2007 Feb;57(535):130-5.

BACKGROUND: Menopausal symptoms can affect women’s health and wellbeing. It is important to develop interventions to alleviate symptoms, especially given recent evidence resulting in many women no longer choosing to take hormone replacement therapy. Exercise may prove useful in alleviating symptoms, although evidence on its effectiveness has been conflicting.
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Aging Men, Obesity, Metabolic Syndrome, Decrease in Total Serum Testosterone Levels

Researchers writing in the Journal of Urology say that their study “…demonstrated that aging men with obesity and the metabolic syndrome have a significant decrease in total serum testosterone levels compared to aging, metabolically healthy men.”

Kaplan SA, Meehan AG, Shah A. The Age Related Decrease in Testosterone is Significantly Exacerbated in Obese Men With the Metabolic Syndrome. What are the Implications for the Relatively High Incidence of Erectile Dysfunction Observed in These Men? J Urol. 2006 Oct;176(4):1524-8
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Abdominal Fat Strongest Indication of Health Risks

Researchers writing in the medical journal Obesity, say that waist measurement is one of the most useful indicators of health risk.

Shen W, Punyanitya M, Chen J, Gallagher D, Albu J, Pi-Sunyer X, Lewis CE, Grunfeld C, Heshka S, Heymsfield SB. Waist Circumference Correlates with Metabolic Syndrome Indicators Better Than Percentage Fat.

From the article abstract
OBJECTIVE: Percent fat is often considered the reference for establishing the magnitude of adipose tissue accumulation and the risk of excess adiposity. However, the increasing recognition of a strong link between central adiposity and metabolic disturbances led us to test whether waist circumference (WC) is more highly correlated with metabolic syndrome components than percent fat and other related anthropometric measures such as BMI. (Body Mass Index)

Waist circumference had the strongest associations with health risk indicators, followed by BMI. Although percent fat is a useful measure of overall adiposity, health risks are best represented by the simply measured WC.

Obesity and Decreased Hormone Production

Researchers writing in the medical journal Clinical Endocrinology say that “Obesity may predict greater decline in testosterone and SHBG levels with age.”

Derby CA, Zilber S, Brambilla D, Morales KH, McKinlay JB. Body mass index, waist circumference and waist to hip ratio and change in sex steroid hormones: the Massachusetts Male Ageing Study. Clin Endocrinol (Oxf). 2006 Jul 1;65(1):125-31.

From the study abstract:
Objective Cross-sectional data suggest that obesity, particularly central obesity, may be associated with decreased production of sex steroid hormones in men. However, longitudinal hormone data on men in relation to obesity status are limited. Previous studies have not consistently demonstrated whether sex steroids are associated specifically to body mass index or to measures of central obesity.

Our objective was to examine the relation of obesity and of central obesity to longitudinal change in sex steroid hormones in men.

Measurements Free and total testosterone (FT and TT), dehydroepiandrosterone sulphate (DHEAS), and sex hormone-binding globulin (SHBG) were assessed using standardized methods. Health behaviours and medical history were obtained by structured interview.

Repeated measures regression was used to describe trends in steroid hormones and SHBG in relation to obesity status, adjusting for age, smoking, alcohol, comorbidities, and physical activity.

Results: Obesity was associated with decreased levels of total and free testosterone, and of SHBG at follow-up relative to baseline. For any given baseline concentration of TT, FT or SHBG, follow-up levels were lowest among men who remained obese or who became obese during follow-up.

This was true for all three indices of obesity. Central adiposity was associated with lower DHEAS levels at follow-up, while elevated body mass index was not.

Conclusions: Obesity may predict greater decline in testosterone and SHBG levels with age. Central adiposity may be a more important predictor of decline in DHEAS than is body mass index.

Be Active: Reduce Diabetes Risk, Live Longer

Jonker JT,De Laet C,Franco OH, Peeters A, Mackenbach J, Nusselder WJ. Physical Activity and Life Expectancy With and Without Diabetes. Diabetes Care 29:38-43, 2006

Researchers writing in the medical journal Diabetes Care, examined the relationship between active lifestyle, diabetes, and life expectancy. From the abstract:

OBJECTIVE—Physical activity is associated with a reduced risk of developing diabetes and with reduced mortality among diabetic patients. However, the effects of physical activity on the number of years lived with and without diabetes are unclear. Our aim is to calculate the differences in life expectancy with and without type 2 diabetes associated with different levels of physical activity.

CONCLUSIONS—Moderately and highly active people have a longer total life expectancy and live more years free of diabetes than their sedentary counterparts but do not spend more years with diabetes.

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Low Gylcemic Index Foods for Weight Loss and Diabetes

Researchers writing in The Diabetes Educator say that incorporating more low-glycemic foods helped individuals with weight control and diabetes.

From the abstract:
“PURPOSE: This retrospective study evaluated the incorporation of low-glycemic index (GI) carbohydrates into daily meal planning as an effective behavioral lifestyle change to improve glycemic control and weight management in patients with type 1 and 2 diabetes.

CONCLUSIONS: Daily incorporation of low-GI carbohydrates in meal planning can be an effective diabetes self-management strategy for glycemic control and weight management. The documented responses to the subjects’ conceptual and practical knowledge of the GI confirm their acceptance of this approach as a permanent behavioral lifestyle change and not a “diet.” The positive results of this study attest to what worked for these subjects, inviting diabetes educators to consider offering low-GI dietary advice to their diabetes patients.”

Read the abstract
Burani J, Longo PJ. Low–Glycemic Index Carbohydrates. An Effective Behavioral Change for Glycemic Control and Weight Management in Patients With Type 1 and 2 Diabetes. The Diabetes Educator, Vol. 32, No. 1, 78-88 (2006)

Exercise, Abdominal Fat, Insulin Resistance

Researchers writing in The Journal of Applied Physiology studied 16 obese men and women, about 63 years old, during a 12 week exercise program. During the program the participants exercised 5 days a week for 60 minutes a day (treadmill/cycle ergometry @ 85% of heart rate max). Among the many things the researchers measured was total abdominal fat, subcutaneous fat (fat under the skin) and visceral fat (the fat that surrounds the organs).

From the study abstract: “Exercise improves glucose metabolism and delays the onset and/or reverses insulin resistance in the elderly by an unknown mechanism. In the present study we examined the effects of exercise training on glucose metabolism, abdominal adiposity and adipocytokines* in obese elderly.”

What the researchers found: “Visceral fat loss after aerobic exercise training improves glucose metabolism and is associated with the reversal of insulin resistance in older obese men and women.”

*Adipocytokines are a collective term for secretions from the fat cells that help regulate energy metabolism and food intake among other functions.

Reference: O’Leary VB, Marchetti CM, Krishnan RK, Stetzer BP, Gonzalez F, Kirwan JP. Exercise-induced reversal of Insulin Resistance in Obese Elderly is associated with reduced Visceral Fat.J Appl Physiol (December 22, 2005) Study abstract

Waist Size and Health Risks in 50-95 Year Olds

Researchers writing in the medical journal Diabetes Care say that while overall body fat and fitness levels are important in predicting health risks, it is your waist size or the measurement of abdominal obesity that is the still the measurement to assess health risk among older adults.

Racette SB, Evans EM, Weiss EP, Hagberg JM, Holloszy JO. Abdominal Adiposity Is a Stronger Predictor of Insulin Resistance Than Fitness Among 50–95 Year Olds. Diabetes Care 29:673-678, 2006

Excerpts From the study abstract
OBJECTIVE—Physical inactivity and increased adiposity contribute to insulin resistance; less is known, however, about the relative contributions of these factors in older adults. The aim of this study was to determine whether cardiovascular fitness, whole-body adiposity, or abdominal adiposity is the strongest predictor of insulin resistance into old age.

CONCLUSIONS—Adiposity and fitness continue to be significant predictors of insulin sensitivity into old age, with abdominal obesity being the most important single factor. These findings support the measurement of waist circumference to assess health risk among older adults.

Weight, Obesity, and Diabetes Research

Menopause and Obesity
After menopause, many women notice that their muscle-to-fat ratio tilts in favor of the latter and the battle of the bulge is increasingly difficult. All the hormones, especially estradiol and testosterone, can help tip the scale back in the right direction.

Estradiol, increases fat breakdown from body fat stores so that it can be used as fuel and increases basal metabolic rate, while testosterone has been shown to maintain muscle tone, volume, and strength, increase metabolism, and decrease body fat. In a 2000 study, featured in Menopause, estrogen supplementation had effects on body fat distribution in postmenopausal women that was associated with improved lipid parameters.

The Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism reported that obese women given low doses of testosterone lost more body fat and subcutaneous abdominal fat, and gained more muscle mass than women who were placed on a placebo.

In a 2006 study, researchers writing in the medical journal Diabetes, Obesity & Metabolism found “HRT reduces abdominal obesity, insulin resistance, new-onset diabetes, lipids, blood pressure, adhesion molecules and procoagulant factors in women without diabetes and reduced insulin resistance and fasting glucose in women with diabetes.”

Women are not alone in the hormonal decline department. Men also experience a falling off of hormone levels. In my practice, I have found that most men over forty suffer from low levels of testosterone, a condition called andropause, or male menopause. Testosterone decline may be linked to many age-related symptoms like muscle weakness, bone loss, memory complications, weight gain and heart disease. As far as quality of life is concerned, in the absence of normal-to-high levels of testosterone, men suffer from mood swings, fatigue, and libido dysfunction

Not everyone will benefit from hormone supplementation. The goals, realities, and risks of hormone supplementation should be discussed, at length, with your physician prior to onset of treatment.

Insulin Resistance, Weight Gain Lead to Early Aging
When we eat, our bodies release insulin into our blood stream so that we can process glucose (sugars) from our foods to make energy, especially in our muscles. Glucose belongs in our cells and not in our blood. When it remains in our blood we produce more insulin. Increased insulin, according to many researchers, is the number one factor for accelerated aging.

Waist Size and Health Risks in 50-95 Year Olds
Researchers writing in the medical journal Diabetes Care say that while overall body fat and fitness levels are important in predicting health risks, it is your waist size or the measurement of abdominal obesity that is the still the measurement to assess health risk among older adults.

Exercise, Abdominal Fat, Insulin Resistance
Researchers writing in The Journal of Applied Physiology studied 16 obese men and women, about 63 years old, during a 12 week exercise program.

Low Gylcemic Index Foods for Weight Loss and Diabetes
Researchers writing in The Diabetes Educator say that incorporating more low-glycemic foods helped individuals with weight control and diabetes.

UCSD Study Sheds New Light on Insulin’s Role in Blocking Fat Breakdown in Patients with Type II Diabetes
“Chronically high levels of insulin, as is found in many people with obesity and Type II diabetes, may block specific hormones that trigger energy release into the body, according to researchers at the University of California, San Diego (UCSD) School of Medicine. Their findings, which may point to new approaches to developing improved treatment options for the disease…”

Be Active: Reduce Diabetes Risk, Live Longer
Researchers writing in the medical journal Diabetes Care, examined the relationship between active lifestyle, diabetes, and life expectancy.

Exercise, Diabetes, Diabetes Risk
Researchers writing in the Medical Journal Diabetes Care say patients may need more convincing that exercise assists in diabetes management and diabetes risk management.

Obesity and Decreased Hormone Production
Researchers writing in the medical journal Clinical Endocrinology say that “Obesity may predict greater decline in testosterone and SHBG levels with age.”

Abdominal Fat Strongest Indication of Health Risks
Researchers writing in the medical journal Obesity, say that waist measurement is one of the most useful indicators of health risk.

Sleep and Diabetes Risk in Men
Researchers writing in the medical journal Diabetes Care say that too little or too much sleep increases diabetes risk. The researchers say that men getting 5 to 6 hours of sleep a night were twice as likely to develop diabetes, men getting more than 8 hours were three times more likely to develop diabetes. They also noted that testosterone may be a factor in sleep on diabetes.

Testosterone, Diabetes, and Cardiovascular Disease
New research says Testosterone may have a protective role in the development of metabolic syndrome and subsequent diabetes mellitus and cardiovascular disease in aging men.

Middle Aged Men, Metabolic Syndrome, Stroke Risk
Finish researchers say that middle aged men with Metabolic Syndrome have twice the risk of suffering from a stroke. Read more

Metabolic Syndrome and Stroke
Researchers writing in the Archives of Internal Medicine say that preventing and controlling Metabolic Syndrome is likely to reduce risk of stroke.

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