Reference ranges for urinary levels of testosterone and epitestosterone, which may reveal gonadal function, in a Korean male population

Abstract

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.