Background: Activity of daily living declines in female elderly, which not only increases hospitalization and mortality rates, but also aggravates individual and societal burden. Large samples are needed to elucidate the relationships of plasma sex hormone levels with activity of daily living in Chinese female centenarians to better understand the effects of hormone-replacing therapy.
Objective: As the first time in the world, the current study was designed to investigate the relationships of plasma sex hormone levels with activity of daily living in Chinese female centenarians.
Participants: China Hainan Centenarian Cohort Study was carried out in 18 cities and counties of Hainan Province.
Main measures: Home interview, physical examination and blood analysis were carried out in 583 female centenarians following standard procedures. Barthel Index was used to assess the activity of daily living.
Key results: Median age of all female centenarians was 102 years, with the range from 100 to 115 years. Median values of Barthel Index were 85(60-90). In multivariate linear regression analyses, Barthel Index values were inversely associated with plasma luteinizing hormone (LH), follicle-simulating hormone (FSH), testosterone, progesterone and estradiol levels (P<0.05 for all).
Conclusion: Plasma sex hormone levels, including LH, FSH, testosterone, progesterone and estradiol, had significant relationships with activity of daily living in Chinese female centenarians.
Keywords: Activity of daily living; Chinese female centenarians; estradiol; follicle-simulating hormone; luteinizing hormone; progesterone; testosterone.