Associations of serum sex hormone binding globulin (SHBG) levels with SHBG gene polymorphisms in the CARDIA male hormone study

In the sex hormone binding globulin (SHBG) gene, a pentanucleotide-repeat polymorphism [(TAAAA)_n] and a single nucleotide polymorphism (D327N) have been associated with circulating SHBG concentrations in women. Only one study, limited to Scandinavians, has examined these associations in men. Using data from the Coronary Artery Risk Development in Young Adults (CARDIA) Male Hormone Study, the authors assessed associations of SHBG polymorphisms with serum SHBG levels in 511 Black men and 698 White men who had SHBG measured in multiple serum samples collected over an 8-year period from 1987 to 1996 and were aged 20-34 years at the time of the first SHBG measurement. Multivariable repeated-measures analyses were used to assess associations of (TAAAA) _n and D327N polymorphisms with SHBG concentrations. Results showed statistically significant differences in mean SHBG concentrations for White men with genotypes of (TAAAA) 6/6 (35.1 nmol/liter), 6/x (30.8 nmol/liter), and x/x (29.6 nmol/liter), where x represents a repeat length greater than 6 (p = 0.001). For Black men, the pattern of association was similar, albeit not statistically significant (p = 0.35). There was no relation between D327N genotype and SHBG levels. These results suggest that the (TAAAA)_n repeat length in the SHBG gene, but not the D327N variant, might contribute to the interindividual variability in serum SHBG levels.