Biochemical Analysis of Age-Related Hormonal Changes and Their Impact on Metabolic Pathways - A Cross-Sectional Study
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.53350/pjmhs02025194.22Keywords:
Anabolic Hormones, Catabolic Hormone levels, Cortisol, specific therapeutic interventionAbstract
Background: Gradual changes in hormonal levels with aging are associated with severe changes in biochemical pathways controlling metabolic, protein synthesis, and energy balance. A basic understanding of these age related hormonal changes is necessary to early detection of metabolic disorders and age specific therapeutic intervention.
Aim: Biochemically evaluate the relationship between metabolic pathway disturbances due to age-related hormonal changes in a population of 100 individuals from different age groups.
Methodology: This was a descriptive, cross sectional study done from July to December 2024 at the Department of Biochemistry, Lahore Medical & Dental College Lahore. A total of 100 patients were enrolled and divided into three age groups: young adults (20–35 years), middle aged adults (36–60 years) and elderly patients (>60 years) in an equal proportion. Levels of insulin, cortisol, thyroid hormones (T3, T4, and TSH), testosterone (males), estrogen (females), IGF-1 and growth hormone were analyzed from fasting venous blood samples.
Results: The elderly group showed significant decline in IGF-1 (p<0.001), testosterone (p<0.01), estrogen (p<0.05) and growth hormone (p<0.001) compared to younger subjects. With increasing age (p< 0.05), the levels of cortisol and TSH increased slightly, but statistically, these levels were slightly increased. There were corresponding changes in metabolic markers including elevated fasting glucose and total cholesterol in the elderly group (p<0.01). IGF-1 and HDL levels showed positive correlation and cortisol and insulin sensitivity markers showed negative correlation.
Conclusion: Hormonal shifts associated with age have a significant impact on metabolism. Older individuals may be predisposed to insulin resistance, dyslipidemia and altered liver and renal biochemistry as a result of declining anabolic hormones, increased catabolic hormone levels.
References
Veldhuis JD, Roemmich JN, Richmond EJ, Bowers CY. Somatotropic and gonadotropic axes linkages in infancy, childhood, and the puberty–adult transition. Endocr Rev. 2022;43(1):3–46.
Fabbri E, An Y, Zoli M, Simonsick EM, Guralnik JM, Bandinelli S, et al. Aging and the burden of multimorbidity: Associations with inflammatory and hormonal biomarkers. J Gerontol A Biol Sci Med Sci. 2021;76(4):589–97.
Laron Z. Insulin-like growth factor 1 (IGF-1): a growth hormone. Mol Pathol. 2020;73(2):261–9.
Harman SM, Metter EJ, Tobin JD, Pearson J, Blackman MR. Longitudinal effects of aging on serum total and free testosterone levels in healthy men. J Clin Endocrinol Metab. 2020;105(4):e1046–55.
Santoro N, Randolph JF. Reproductive hormones and the menopause transition. Obstet Gynecol Clin North Am. 2023;50(1):1–18.
Carroll BJ, Curtis GC, Mendels J. Neuroendocrine regulation of mood. Prog Neuropsychopharmacol Biol Psychiatry. 2021;107:110237.
Cappola AR, Arnold AM, Wulczyn K, Carlson M, Robbins J, Patel KV, et al. Thyroid function in the elderly: the Cardiovascular Health Study. J Clin Endocrinol Metab. 2022;107(3):722–31.
Ferrucci L, Gonzalez-Freire M, Fabbri E, Simonsick E, Tanaka T, Moore Z, et al. Measuring biological aging in humans: A quest. Aging Cell. 2021;20(4):e13427.
Barzilai N, Huffman DM, Muzumdar RH, Bartke A. The critical role of metabolic pathways in aging. Diabetes. 2023;72(1):5–17.
Ahmed T, Malik B, Khalid M, Iqbal A, Farooq MU, Fatima A. Age-related decline in liver and renal function parameters and its association with metabolic syndrome in elderly Pakistani population. Pak J Med Sci. 2023;39(2):412–8.
Lamberts SW, van den Beld AW, van der Lely AJ. The endocrinology of aging. Science. 2021;364(6442):587–91.
Kalyani RR, Dobs AS. Androgen deficiency, diabetes, and the metabolic syndrome in men. Curr Opin Endocrinol Diabetes Obes. 2020;27(3):207–12.
Tajar A, Forti G, O’Neill TW, Lee DM, Silman AJ, Finn JD, et al. Characteristics of secondary, primary, and compensated hypogonadism in aging men: evidence from the European Male Ageing Study. J Clin Endocrinol Metab. 2022;107(5):1487–96.
Mohr BA, Bhasin S, Link CL, O’Donnell AB, McKinlay JB. The effect of aging on serum testosterone levels in men: cross-sectional and longitudinal results. Clin Endocrinol (Oxf). 2021;75(5):673–81.
Stratakis CA. Hormonal aging: clinical implications and molecular mechanisms. Nat Rev Endocrinol. 2020;16(8):441–54.
Wu FC, Tajar A, Beynon JM, Pye SR, Silman AJ, Finn JD, et al. Identification of late-onset hypogonadism in middle-aged and elderly men. N Engl J Med. 2021;364(2):189–200.
Wurtman RJ. The role of estrogen in brain aging and Alzheimer’s disease. J Neural Transm. 2023;130(5):621–9.
Trivedi DP, Khaw KT. Age-related changes in thyroid function in a community-based population. Clin Endocrinol (Oxf). 2020;74(2):236–40.
Clegg DJ, Hevener AL. Functional implications of age-related decline in estrogen signaling. Front Endocrinol (Lausanne). 2023;14:1039276.
Alvi A, Farid A, Nawaz S, Jamil A. Patterns of thyroid and sex hormone variation in aging men and women: A multicenter cross-sectional study in Pakistan. Biomedica. 2023;39(1):29–35.
Downloads
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2025 SYED NAVEED HAIDER, RAZIA BATOOL, NAVEED SHUJA, QURATULAAIN ZOHRA, AQEELA KOUSAR, M. AKEEL
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
