SHBG
Sex hormone-binding globulin — the liver-produced carrier of testosterone and oestradiol in blood.
SHBG is a glycoprotein synthesised in the liver that binds testosterone, dihydrotestosterone, and oestradiol with high affinity. ~98% of testosterone in serum is bound (mostly to SHBG, some to albumin); only the unbound 'free' fraction and the loosely-albumin-bound fraction are bioactive. Because hepatic SHBG production is suppressed by insulin, low SHBG is one of the earliest readouts of insulin resistance — often before fasting glucose or HbA1c shifts. It also distorts the interpretation of total testosterone: a 'normal' total T with low SHBG can mean borderline-low free T.
- BiomarkerTotal T 450 ng/dL
Total testosterone of 450 ng/dL in a 35-year-old man is technically inside the standard reference range but well below the age-matched mean. What the number means without free T and SHBG context — and what a deeper read tells you.
- BiomarkerSHBG low (male)
Sex hormone binding globulin below the male reference range is a strong signal of insulin resistance and metabolic syndrome — and it makes total testosterone readings deeply misleading. What the literature says.
- BiomarkerDHEA-S 80 µg/dL
Dehydroepiandrosterone sulphate at 80 µg/dL in a man in his 40s is below the typical age-matched range. What DHEA-S measures, why the literature treats it as a global endocrine marker, and what its decline means.
- GlossaryGLP-1
Glucagon-like peptide-1, an incretin hormone that regulates glucose and appetite.
- GlossaryGIP
Glucose-dependent insulinotropic polypeptide, an incretin hormone with metabolic and adipose effects.