Effect of genetics on male secondary sex characteristics vs Low T

[Welshlad87]

Hi all,
Wondering how much genetics plays a role in secondary sex characteristics vs total testosterone levels.
I read a paper (attached) which shows that professional athletes have testosterone levels around 500-600ng/dl, which is around my levels but i have very poor secondary sex characteristics. Low muscle and bone mass the most significant.

Although in this report the athletes SHBG was quite a bit lower than what i have around 20-25 nmol/l where as mine is around 45 nmol/l. Recent blood work has shown i have Free T of around 9ng/dl.
In this report using the figures provided most athletes were around 12-16ng/dl.

Is this significant enough to affect secondary sex characteristics over what i have. Or could there be other genetic factors influencing this?

 

[Guided_by_Voices]

I'm not a biologist, but there are many factors that influence muscle and bone mass, such as growth hormone, diet, overall environment, nutrients (particulary Vitamin D which is key for bone development), gene expression, and other things. T levels are clearly a fairly minor factor or teenagers on T or who have upper range T who are still maturing would look like strongman competitors.

 

[Systemlord]

Genetics plays the largest part in how hormones will affect your development. I would argue if your genetics is favorable, you could builds lots of muscle easily with what would be considered low-T for the majority of men.

A big factor in secondary sexual characteristics are hugely influenced by testosterone levels in the womb. My brother had his ring finger significantly longer than his middle finger, indicating very high testosterone in the womb.

 

[Welshlad87]

Genetics plays the largest part in how hormones will affect your development. I would argue if your genetics is favorable, you could builds lots of muscle easily with what would be considered low-T for the majority of men.

A big factor in secondary sexual characteristics are hugely influenced by testosterone levels in the womb. My brother had his ring finger significantly longer than his middle finger, indicating very high testosterone in the womb.

That makes sense because you see some young boys before puberty that still have typical masculine shape I.e broad shoulders defined muscle shape. Except those muscles grow bigger during puberty and obviously a growth spurt.

I am thinking of doing some genetic testing to try and find the route cause of my poor secondary sex characteristics. My sister also has polysystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) so I wonder if there is a genetic link.