Dr Justin Saya MD
Moderator
Would any of you believe me if I told you that FEMALES actually (typically) have MORE TESTOSTERONE in their system than ESTRADIOL?
This is indeed an important factoid to keep into consideration during the testosterone/estrogen debate.
Let's look at the "normal" lab ranges for both in a FEMALE:
Estradiol (varies DRASTICALLY during different phases of menstrual cycle, but generally in a range of): 30pg/mL - 150 pg/mL
Testosterone (can vary during different phases of menstrual cycle): 8 ng/dL - 48ng/dL
***IMPORTANT*** Note the UNITS difference...in order to compare the actual concentrations of thse hormones, we need to convert to the SAME UNITS. For the sake of understanding (since most folks here are used to speaking in terms of ng/dL - the units of measurement for testosterone - I will convert the estradiol from pg/mL -> ng/dL (a 10:1 conversion).
Lets say for a female with an "average" estradiol level of 100pg/mL, this would convert to 10 ng/dL.
Now remember the "normal" reference range for testosterone levels for females is typically reported as 8-48 ng/dL. Now for a female with an "average" testosterone level of ~25ng/dL (approx. middle of normal range) - she would actually have 2.5x MORE testosterone in her system than estradiol! (25ng/dL vs 10ng/dL)
What does this mean?!?!? Not much on the surface, but gives us some insight into (and APPRECIATION of) the POTENCY of estradiol as a hormone...in the sense that even in females, where estradiol concentrations are typically still even less than absolute testosterone concentrations in their body, simply higher levels of E2 (without necessarily being higher THAN testosterone) create all of the secondary sex differences of female vs male!
Now below the surface, there are also other factors at play including the less active E1, E3 and then the lower T levels (i.e. lower T:E ratio), but wanted to give some food for thought and perhaps spark even MORE respect and appreciation of the POWER of estradiol as a hormone.
This is indeed an important factoid to keep into consideration during the testosterone/estrogen debate.
Let's look at the "normal" lab ranges for both in a FEMALE:
Estradiol (varies DRASTICALLY during different phases of menstrual cycle, but generally in a range of): 30pg/mL - 150 pg/mL
Testosterone (can vary during different phases of menstrual cycle): 8 ng/dL - 48ng/dL
***IMPORTANT*** Note the UNITS difference...in order to compare the actual concentrations of thse hormones, we need to convert to the SAME UNITS. For the sake of understanding (since most folks here are used to speaking in terms of ng/dL - the units of measurement for testosterone - I will convert the estradiol from pg/mL -> ng/dL (a 10:1 conversion).
Lets say for a female with an "average" estradiol level of 100pg/mL, this would convert to 10 ng/dL.
Now remember the "normal" reference range for testosterone levels for females is typically reported as 8-48 ng/dL. Now for a female with an "average" testosterone level of ~25ng/dL (approx. middle of normal range) - she would actually have 2.5x MORE testosterone in her system than estradiol! (25ng/dL vs 10ng/dL)
What does this mean?!?!? Not much on the surface, but gives us some insight into (and APPRECIATION of) the POTENCY of estradiol as a hormone...in the sense that even in females, where estradiol concentrations are typically still even less than absolute testosterone concentrations in their body, simply higher levels of E2 (without necessarily being higher THAN testosterone) create all of the secondary sex differences of female vs male!
Now below the surface, there are also other factors at play including the less active E1, E3 and then the lower T levels (i.e. lower T:E ratio), but wanted to give some food for thought and perhaps spark even MORE respect and appreciation of the POWER of estradiol as a hormone.
