Potential associations of circulating growth differentiation factor-15 with sex hormones in male patients with coronary artery disease

This study aimed to explore the association between growth differentiation factor-15 (GDF-15), a stress-induced factor, and sex hormones in male patients with coronary artery disease (CAD). In this study, we recruited 253 male patients with CAD and 205 male controls. Patients were divided into three groups in accordance with GDF-15 tertiles. Serum levels of GDF-15, testosterone, estradiol and other biochemical variables were measured. Serum levels of GDF-15 were significantly increased and serum testosterone and testosterone/estradiol ratio (T/E2 ratio) were significantly decreased in CAD patients compared with controls. Patients with high GDF-15 levels had lower testosterone (203.97, 95% CI 154.67–328.30 vs. 303.98, 95% CI 246.93–345.66; P = 0.001) and T/E2 ratio (8.82, 95% CI 5.77–11.41 vs. 11.07, 95% CI 7.91–14.32; P = 0.013). Correlation analyses showed that serum GDF-15 levels inversely correlated with testosterone levels (r = −0.339) and T/E2 ratio (r = −0.365) (both P