Associations between declining testosterone concentrations and cognitive performance in community-dwelling older Australian women: a prospective cohort study
Year: 2025
Type: article
Abstract: Objective Testosterone may have a role in brain health. Whether older women who exhibit a decline in blood testosterone are at an increased risk of cognitive decline is uncertain.Method A subset of Australian female participants in the Aspirin in Reducing Events in the Elderly (ASPREE) trial had testosterone concentrations measured by liquid chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry and underwent a comprehensive cognitive test battery at baseline and study year 3. Cognitive decline was defined as a lower test score at year 3 compared with baseline. The mean change (baseline to year 3) of testosterone concentration was examined by paired-sample t-test. Stable or increased (reference) versus a decline in testosterone concentration was used to investigate the association with cognitive decline using logistic regression.Results A total of 395 women (median [interquartile range] age 78.1 [73.7–82.3] years) provided data for analysis. In total, 154 women (39%) had a decline in blood testosterone which was not associated with a decline in any cognitive measure (Modified Mini-Mental State Examination: odds ratio [OR] = 0.96, 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.63 to 1.49, p = 0.86; Hopkins Verbal Learning Test – Revised: Immediate Recall, OR = 0.71, 95% CI 0.44 to 1.13, p = 0.151 and Delayed Recall, OR = 1.42, 95% CI 0.89 to 2.26, p = 0.14; Controlled Oral Word Association Test: OR = 0.79, 95% CI 0.49 to 1.25, p = 0.31; and Symbol Digit Modalities Test: OR = 0.83, 95% CI 0.53 to 1.29, p = 0.40). Limiting the analysis to 237 women aged 70–79 years (74.5 [interquartile range 72.2–77.1] years), no association was observed between a decline in blood testosterone and any cognitive outcome.Conclusion : A decline in blood testosterone concentrations over 3 years was not associated with a decline in cognitive function in community-dwelling Australian women aged 70 years and older.
Source: Climacteric
Language: English
Subfield: Endocrinology, Diabetes and Metabolism
Field: Medicine
Domain: Health Sciences
Open Access status: hybrid
Awards: Sex Hormones and Heart Disease in Older Women Study (The SHOW Study), G1740950978, G2256521538, G2532748898, G313601605, Role of testosterone in preventing major morbidity in women, G486581700, ASPREE Completion Project, G713793082, G7326111853, Women's hormones and health across the adult life span, G8932330266, G9000156609, G9000196096
OpenAlex ID: W4413139872