Letter of apology for falsification of data.

To the editor: Re: Poehlman ET, Goran MJ, Gardner AW, Ades PA, Arcerio PJ, Katzman-Rooks SN, Montgomery SM, Toth MJ, and Sutherland PT. Determinants of decline in resting metabolic rate in aging females. Am J Physiol Endocrinol Metab 264: E450–E455, 1993. In the referenced paper, we reported cross-sectional changes in a number of physiological and metabolic markers in a cohort of 183 women aged 18–81 yr. In particular, we reported a significant decline in total triiodothyronine (T3) and free T3 as the women aged, and we concluded (Fig. 3, A and B, Table 2, and related text) that aging per se might contribute to these reduced hormone concentrations. I now wish to report that the data for total T3 and free T3 in that paper were falsified and that the actual data reveal that there is no significant decline in total or free T3 with age. The actual thyroid hormone data demonstrate a positive, but not significant, correlation with age, in contrast to the false claim of a statistically significant decline with age. I take sole responsibility for the falsification, and I now publicly exonerate my coauthors. I request that you publish this letter and accompanying corrigendum in the same issue of this journal.