Testosterone, risk, and socioeconomic position in British men: Exploring causal directionality

Amanda Hughes and Meena Kumari

Social Science & Medicine, 2019, vol. 220, issue C, 129-140

Abstract: Lower testosterone levels in men are observationally associated with worse health, but it is unclear whether they contribute to well-established social gradients in health. Mendelian Randomization studies suggest positive testosterone-health associations may not be causal, with some intervention studies suggesting testosterone administration could be harmful. Since testosterone is rarely measured in general population studies, very little is known about how testosterone varies by social position. Differences by education and household income in British men aged 60-64y were recently reported, but it is unclear whether this reflects an influence of socioeconomic position (SEP) on testosterone, influence of testosterone on SEP, or confounding.

Keywords: UK; Testosterone; Hormones; Socioeconomic position; Earnings; Income; Employment; Mendelian randomization (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2019
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (5)

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:socmed:v:220:y:2019:i:c:p:129-140

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DOI: 10.1016/j.socscimed.2018.11.004

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