Related Experiment Video
Updated: May 1, 2026

An In Vivo Estrogen Deficiency Mouse Model for Screening Exogenous Estrogen Treatments of Cardiovascular Dysfunction After Menopause
Published on: August 13, 2019
Serum estradiol associates with blood hemoglobin in elderly men: the MrOS Sweden study
Catharina Lewerin1, Herman Nilsson-Ehle, Stefan Jacobsson
1Section of Hematology and Coagulation, Department of Internal Medicine, Institute of Medicine (C.L., H.N.-E.), Department of Clinical Chemistry and Transfusion Medicine (S.J.), and Center for Bone and Arthritis Research (CBAR), Geriatric Medicine at the Institute of Medicine (H.J., V.S., M.L., D.M.), Sahlgrenska Academy at the University of Gothenburg, 413 45 Gothenburg, Sweden; Clinical and Molecular Osteoporosis Research Unit (M.K.K.), Department of Clinical Sciences and Orthopaedics, Lund University, SE-20502 Malmö, Sweden; Department of Family and Preventative Medicine (E.B.-C.), University of California, San Diego, California 92093; and CBAR (L.V., C.O.), Department of Internal Medicine and Clinical Nutrition, at the Institute of Medicine, Sahlgrenska Academy at the University of Gothenburg, SE-411 45 Gothenburg, Sweden.
Context:
Blood hemoglobin (Hb) declines with age in healthy elderly men, in whom decreasing T has been regarded as part of normal aging. However, the association between Hb and serum estradiol is incompletely known.
Objective:
To determine whether estradiol is associated with anemia/Hb and established determinants of Hb in elderly men without prostate cancer.
Design, Setting, And Participants:
The MrOS (Osteoporotic Fractures in Men) is a population-based study (n = 918; median age, 75.3 y; range, 70-81 y).
Main Outcome Measures:
We evaluated total estradiol in relation to Hb and adjusted for potential confounders (ie, age, body mass index [BMI], erythropoietin [EPO], total T, cystatin C, and iron and B-vitamin status).
Results:
Estradiol correlated negatively with age (r = -0.14; P < .001). Hb correlated (age adjusted) positively with estradiol (r = 0.21; P < .001) and T (r = 0.10; P < .01). Independent predictors for Hb in multivariate analyses were estradiol, EPO, BMI, transferrin saturation, cystatin C, and free T4, but not T. After exclusion of subjects with Hb <130 g/L and/or T < 8 nmol/L (n = 99), the correlation between Hb and T was no longer significant, whereas the associations between Hb and estradiol remained. After adjusting for age, BMI, and EPO, men with lower estradiol levels were more likely to have Hb in the lowest quartile of values (odds ratio per SD decrease in estradiol = 1.61 [95% confidence interval, 1.34-1.93]). Anemic subjects (Hb < 130 g/L) had lower mean estradiol than nonanemic subjects (67.4 vs 79.4 pmol/L; P < .001).
Conclusions:
Estradiol correlated positively and independently with Hb. Decreased estradiol might partly explain the age-related Hb decline observed in healthy elderly men.
Related Concept Videos
Pharmacodynamics in Geriatric Patients: Effects of Age
Pharmacokinetics in Geriatric Patients: Effect of Age on Drug Distribution
Menopause
Drug Dosing: Geriatric Patients
Pharmacokinetics in Geriatric Patients: Effect of Age on Drug Metabolism
Pharmacokinetics in Geriatric Patients: Effect of Age on Drug Excretion
