Moon, Ju-Yeon Kwon, Woonyong Suh, Sungill Cheong, Jae Chul In, Moon Kyo Chung, Bong Chul Kim, Jin Young Choi, Man Ho 2024-01-20T10:30:25Z 2024-01-20T10:30:25Z 2021-09-05 2014-03 0960-0760 https://pubs.kist.re.kr/handle/201004/127056 Cannabis, or marijuana, the most commonly used illicit drug in the world, has been shown to be responsible for suppressing the production and secretion of androgens, particularly testosterone. However, despite such findings in animals, the chronic effects of marijuana use on human endocrine systems have proved to be inconsistent. Here, we investigated the reference ranges of urinary levels of testosterone (T) and epitestosterone (E) as well as their metabolic ratio of T/E in a Korean male population (n=337), which would enable an evaluation of abnormal changes in steroid metabolism induced by habitually administered cannabis. The T/E ratio was significantly decreased in the marijuana group (n=18), while the urinary testosterone concentrations were also tended to decrease. This study is the first to provide data for the reference values of two urinary androgens and T/E values among control Korean males, and, furthermore, suggests that the T/E ratio, though not testosterone levels, might be used to understand the suppression of human male gonadal function affected by smoking marijuana. (C) 2013 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. English PERGAMON-ELSEVIER SCIENCE LTD ANABOLIC-STEROIDS MEN METABOLISM ABUSE RATIO Reference ranges for urinary levels of testosterone and epitestosterone, which may reveal gonadal function, in a Korean male population Article 10.1016/j.jsbmb.2013.12.001 1 JOURNAL OF STEROID BIOCHEMISTRY AND MOLECULAR BIOLOGY, v.140, pp.100 - 105 JOURNAL OF STEROID BIOCHEMISTRY AND MOLECULAR BIOLOGY 140 100 105 scie scopus 000331480900012 2-s2.0-84891614996 Biochemistry & Molecular Biology Endocrinology & Metabolism Biochemistry & Molecular Biology Endocrinology & Metabolism Article ANABOLIC-STEROIDS MEN METABOLISM ABUSE RATIO Testosterone Epitestosterone T/E ratio Marijuana Korean