Purpose: To assess the association between serum testosterone (T) and metabolic syndrome (MS) in different age groups in Taiwanese men. Materials and Methods: Male participants, regardless of age or any underlying disease, were identified from MJ Health Screening Center in Taiwan from 2007 to 2016 for this crosssectional study. They were divided into three groups according to age, and further classified according to MS diagnosis. Basic patient characteristics with relevant parameters were obtained. One-way ANOVA of mean T values between different numbers of measures that exceeds the cut-off values of MS components was performed to assess the relationship of T and MS. Logistic regression analysis was also used to estimate the risk for MS with each increment in T, age, and BMI. Results: A total of 4,931 men were included. The MS group had significantly lower serum T levels compared to the non-MS group in each age group. The one-way ANOVA found the mean value of T was significantly higher in patients without MS component (6.19±2.12 ng/ mL) than those with 1-5 MS components (with one MS component: 5.48±2.13 ng/mL, two MS components: 4.93±2.03 ng/mL, three MS components: 4.37±1.60 ng/mL, four MS components: 4.13±2.89 ng/mL, five MS components: 3.74±1.27 ng/mL, and P<0.001). There was no significant difference between the patients with three components and the patients with four or five components. Logistic regression models with age stratification showed T with lower odds ratio (OR) for MS after adjusting for BMI in those ≥65 years old (OR=0.693; 95% CI=0.559-0.858; P<0.001); 50-64 years old (OR=0.868; 95% CI=0.802-0.940; P<0.001) and <50 years old (OR=0.810; 95% CI=0.758-0.865; P<0.001). Conclusion: Lower serum T was strongly associated with MS, with the predictive value increasing with age in Taiwanese men.

Low testosterone levels are associated with increased risk of cardiovascular disease; however, most previous studies assessed the relationship of testosterone levels with a history of cardiovascular (CV) events rather than with CV risk prediction scores consequently neglecting the effect of testosterone on CV risk in healthy young individuals. The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between testosterone levels and predict the 10-year risk of cardiovascular disease. This retrospective cohort study was conducted through a large medical health examination system in four metropolises in Taiwan. Two risk scores were used to predict the 10-year cardiovascular risk of participants: the Framingham Risk Score (FRS) (2008) and the Atherosclerotic Cardiovascular Disease (ASCVD) Risk Estimator (2013). Multivariate-adjusted logistic regression was used to calculate odds ratios (ORs) for the correlation of testosterone level reduction with the increase in predicted CV risk. We used the MJ Health Research Foundation database to collect reports of 125,414 individuals who underwent medical checkups between 2007 and 2016. The final sample size included 1,253 male participants. A reduction in testosterone level between two subsequent medical checkups was associated with higher CV risk estimated by the FRS and ASCVD Risk Estimator in young participants aged 30–49 years (OR = 0.804, 95% CI: 0.711–0.909, p &lt; 0.01 and OR = 0.841, 95% CI: 0.742–0.953, p &lt; 0.01, respectively). Reduction in total testosterone levels increases CV risk in men aged 30 to 49 years, while the CV risk is not influenced by low testosterone levels at baseline.

This study primarily employed the health belief model (HBM) to identify the effect between health examination services and intentions to continue receiving health examinations. The research participants (n = 905) were people who received a health examination in a hospital in Central Taiwan in 2012. The study conducted an anonymous questionnaire survey to collect data and implemented cross-sectional research to examine the factors. The results for the threat construct the participants who showed concern regarding potential physical conditions, and the causes of diseases were more likely to anticipate in health examinations. The participants who indicated their intentions to modify dietary and exercise regimen according to their health examination reports were more likely to anticipate examinations. The results for the cues to action construct showed that the participants who considered advice from others were more inclined to undergo examinations. The results for the barriers construct found that factors, including anxiety, concern for personal-information disclosure. Providing community health examinations helps health care facilities understand people's concepts regarding health examinations and ensures that hospitals enhance the delivery of health examinations to satisfy people's demands and achieve community health.