New UCLA Study Says Male Cyclists Have Elevated Hormone Levels, Maybe Because...

[ZippyThePinhead]

...they use chamois cream. Of course we all know correlation doesn't necessarily imply causation.

Read the executive summary for yourself.

Personally I've never used any chamois butter or whatever, even for longer rides. But I don't ride that many miles annually... less than 3000.

[milkbaby]

Floyd wasn't guilty; it was the chamois creme!!!!!!!!!

[Shimagnolo]

I do ~5000 miles/year and the only time I ever used it was when a free sample came in an order of parts

[Silvercivic27]

Only when using Dave Zabriskie's "D'z nuts".

[DropDeadFred]

never needed it.

[hairnet]

I only use it on centuries and I can't say it makes me feel like more or less of a man. maybe next time I'll really slather it on

[TrojanHorse]

*@&# UCLA... they're not good for anything.

Who knew - chamois cream leads to moobs!

[johnny99]

The study says there is a correlation between chamois creme and hormone issues, not a causation. Maybe the causation is the other way around: people who ride more miles tend to use chamois cream, but the mileage causes the hormone problems, not the chamois cream.

[Essex]

Kind of a small sample size: 16 triathletes, 46 cyclists and 45 recreational athletes. It would be interesting to see whether or not UCLA decides to do a larger study.

[2005trek1200]

Yea, there was a lot of little things that were odd with that study. The small sample size, small exerpt about parabens (Which 85%+ of chamois cream producers dont even use anymore) which is more or less leading people to conclusions, and not addressing the level on activity (aerobic/anaerobic). I blogged about it here: http://www.balmco.com/2012/05/24/dad...ies-come-from/

[Garfield Cat]

I was interested enough to go to the local University library to read the Article "Reproductive hormones and interleukin-6 in serious leisure male athletes". If you are interested the DOI is 10.1007/s00421-012-2356-2. The contributors are Leah Z. FitzGerald, Wendie A. Robbins, James S. Kesner, Lin Xun. It was received on Oct 26 2011 and accepted on Feb 14 2012. The copyright is by Springer-Verlag 2012.

I let my friend read it and she had several comments. The study didn't have a clear hypothesis and it was grappling with the findings. It offered not good explanations. Scientific studies need to be replicated and this wasn't. Replication (scientific method) is one of the main principles of the scientific method, a.k.a. reproducibility. The study does not state its findings have any clinical relevance. Within the different groups in the study one can find variations in lab tests but it does not say the results are pathological.

[RT]

Thank God my loins don't require a protective sheen of slimy goo.

[rangerdavid]

Buy tainted spanish beef. Rub that on your man parts.

[Bacciagalupe]

I let my friend read it and she had several comments.

FYI, that's not what they mean by "peer review."

The study didn't have a clear hypothesis and it was grappling with the findings.

Many studies refrain from drawing extensive conclusions. I'm pretty sure somewhere towards the end it said "more research is needed."

Scientific studies need to be replicated and this wasn't....

Good grief.

This is not like dropping a bowling ball from the top of the Leaning Tower of Pisa. Studies like this do not perform dozens and dozens of runs. That's the job of subsequent studies, which may or may not find the same data, may examine different demographic or activity groups, may or may not confirm this study's results.

[AttackMonkey]

I use vasoline... what is the point of buying expensive chamois butter?

[glockenspieler]

I read the summary and not the original paper, but one interesting result was a dose-response relationship, where more time using chamois butter, larger effect, but not present for non-users. So, while it is still tough to conclude a causal relationship, a dose-response relationship is pretty suggestive.

A quick check of my cabinet indicates that Assoss Chamois Creme has parabens.

[thump55]

So that's why I get *****y every time I use that stuff.

[Garfield Cat]

FYI, that's not what they mean by "peer review."



Many studies refrain from drawing extensive conclusions. I'm pretty sure somewhere towards the end it said "more research is needed."



Good grief.

This is not like dropping a bowling ball from the top of the Leaning Tower of Pisa. Studies like this do not perform dozens and dozens of runs. That's the job of subsequent studies, which may or may not find the same data, may examine different demographic or activity groups, may or may not confirm this study's results.

Yes, but readers should at least know that subsequent research studies need to be done. The Conclusion does state that the study is "preliminary" and that the findings warrant further investigation and replication.