Table 2.
Phenotype characteristics of the study participants. Statistically significant P‐values are marked in bold
| Premenop. Women (n = 6) | Postmenop. nonusers (n = 9) | Postmenop. HRT users (n = 9) | P‐values | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PRE vs. nonusers | PRE vs. HRT users | HRT‐ vs. nonusers | ||||
| Body composition | ||||||
| BMI (kg m−2) | 23.1 ± 2.2 | 26.9 ± 4.6 | 25.4 ± 2.4 | 0.082 | 0.079 | 0.261 |
| Waist circumference (cm) | 80.8 ± 10.1 | 90.1 ± 10.1 | 85.5 ± 5.0 | 0.106 | 0.252 | 0.176 |
| Hip circumference (cm) | 97.0 ± 5.3 | 102.6 ± 7.9 | 99.8 ± 5.3 | 0.156 | 0.338 | 0.074 |
| Body fat mass (kg) | 15.7 ± 5.1 | 23.9 ± 8.9 | 19.8 ± 4.8 | 0.064 | 0.135 | 0.121 |
| LBM (kg) | 43.3 ± 3.3 | 44.9 ± 4.0 | 45.7 ± 2.6 | 0.437 | 0.146 | 0.527 |
| Muscle performance | ||||||
| Handgrip (N) | 333.6 ± 45.7 | 258.9 ± 36.1 | 289.1 ± 57.0 | 0.004 | 0.134 | 0.218 |
| Power (cm) | 26.6 ± 5.7 | 12.6 ± 3.8 | 15.5 ± 2.8 | <0.001 | <0.001 | 0.011 |
| Specific force (N cm−2) | 10.1 ± 1.8 | 9.8 ± 1.7 | 9.4 ± 1.5 | 0.732 | 0.424 | 0.470 |
| Systemic hormonesa | ||||||
| E2 (pmol L−1) | 461.7 ± 308.2 | 26.0 ± 8.5 | 151.0 ± 233.9 | <0.001 | 0.008 | 0.018 |
| Testosterone (nmol L−1) | 1.1 ± 0.4 | 0.8 ± 0.3 | 0.7 ± 0.2 | 0.224 | 0.050 | 0.374 |
| DHT (pmol L−1) | 468.3 ± 319.8 | 201.1 ± 110.8 | 268.9 ± 91.2 | 0.026 | 0.181 | 0.141 |
| DHEAS (μmol L−1) | 4.4 ± 1.6 | 3.2 ± 1.5 | 3.5 ± 1.7 | 0.066 | 0.088 | 0.374 |
| LH (IU L−1) | 9.6 ± 5.3 | 32.7 ± 15.6 | 28.6 ± 6.0 | 0.001 | 0.001 | 0.214 |
| FSH (IU L−1) | 6.2 ± 1.7 | 82.9 ± 20.3 | 54.9 ± 26.1 | <0.001 | <0.001 | 0.015 |
| SHBG (nmol L−1) | 54.2 ± 18.4 | 54.1 ± 23.8 | 54.3 ± 29.3 | 0.689 | 0.864 | 0.767 |
| Intramuscular hormonesa | ||||||
| E2 | 1.3 ± 0.1 | 1.3 ± 0.3 | 1.2 ± 0.2 | 0.776 | 0.607 | 0.058 |
| Testosterone | 11.8 ± 1.8 | 12.3 ± 2.5 | 11.0 ± 1.6 | 0.689 | 0.529 | 0.086 |
| DHT | 0.5 ± 0.1 | 0.9 ± 0.2 | 0.8 ± 0.1 | <0.001 | <0.001 | 0.011 |
| DHEA | 70.1 ± 11.1 | 70.7 ± 14.7 | 61.9 ± 11.8 | 0.776 | 0.224 | 0.110 |
Data are presented as mean ± standard deviation. HRT = hormone replacement therapy, BMI = body mass index, LBM = lean body mass, E2 = 17β‐estradiol, DHT = dihydrotestosterone, DHEA(S) = dehydroepiandrosterone (sulfate), LH = luteinizing hormone, FSH = follicle‐stimulating hormone, SHBG = sex hormone‐binding globulin.
a
Due to nonlinear distribution of hormone variables, Mann–Whitney U‐test for independent samples was used to test significance of group means in PRE vs. nonuser and PRE vs. HRT user comparisons and Wilcoxon signed rank test for related samples to test significance of group means in HRT vs. nonuser comparison.