Sex hormones in female residents of Yamal-Nenets autonomous district depending on the fertility status

Abstract

Severe climatic conditions adversely affect the human reproductive function; there is evidence of earlier aging of the endocrine system in residents of the northern territories. However, there is insufficient data on the content of androgens and estrogens in postmenopausal women of the North. This determined the aim of the work - to study the characteristics of the content of sex hormones in fertile and postmenopausal women in the Arctic zone of the Russian Federation. Material and methods. In the period of increasing daylight hours, there were examined 60 residents of the Yamal-Nenets Autonomous District of the reproductive ( n = 33) and postmenopausal ( n = 27) periods. The serum luteinizing, follicle-stimulating hormones, progesterone, dehydroepiandrosterone sulfate, dihydrotestosterone, androstenedione, total and free fractions of testosterone, estrogen, estrone, sex-hormone-binding globulin were determined by immunoassay analysis using sets of «Khema-Medica» (Russia), Alkor-Bio (Russia), DRG (Germany). The research results were statistically processed using application software package STATISTIC 10.0. Results. There were shown high median values of progesterone (2.41 nmol/L) and dihydrotestosterone (191.02 pg/ml) in postmenopausal women, as well as increased concentrations of sex-hormone-binding globulin in both fertile (170.66 nmol/L) and postmenopausal (154.84 nmol/L) women. At the same time, free testosterone levels are slightly reduced, especially in postmenopausal women (0.50 pg/ml). Conclusion. The revealed features of the hormonal profile of women living in high latitudes may be an unfavorable factor for the development of various metabolic disorders.