Association of low testosterone with metabolic syndrome and its components in middle-aged Japanese men

Abstract

Epidemiological studies have shown that low testosterone is associated with metabolic syndrome (MetS) in Caucasian men. We investigated whether testosterone level is related to the prevalence of MetS in middle-aged Japanese men. A cross-sectional survey was conducted in 194 men aged 30-64 years (49 ± 9). Blood sampling was performed in the morning after a 12-h fast, and the relationship between plasma hormone and MetS was analyzed. Low total testosterone was associated with MetS according to the Japanese criteria (HRs of 2.02 by quartile of testosterone; 95% CI¼1.43-2.87) and the International Diabetes Federation criteria (HRs of 1.68 by quartile of testosterone; 95% CI¼1.25-2.25). Age-adjusted regression analyses revealed that testosterone was significantly related to the MetS parameters of obesity (b¼À0.365 and À0.343 for waist circumference and body mass index, respectively), hypertension (b¼À0.278 and À0.157 for systolic and diastolic blood pressure, respectively), dyslipidemia (b¼À0.242 and 0.228 for triglycerides and high-density lipoprotein cholesterol, respectively), insulin resistance (b¼À0.253 and À0.333 for fasting plasma glucose and homeostasis model assessment of insulin resistance, respectively) and adiponectin (b¼0.216). Inclusion of waist circumference into the model largely weakened the association of testosterone with other metabolic risk factors. In contrast, high estradiol was associated with MetS and its parameters, mostly attributing to the positive correlation between estradiol and obesity. Dehydroepiandrosterone sulfate was not associated with MetS or its parameters. These results suggest that low testosterone is associated with MetS and its parameters in middle-aged Japanese men. The association between estradiol and MetS needs further investigation.

Low Total Testosterone Levels are Associated With the Metabolic Syndrome in Elderly Men: The Role of Body Weight, Lipids, Insulin Resistance, and Inflammation; The Ikaria Study

“…Those components were waist circumference, which reflects central obesity, hyperinsulinemia and increased inflammatory activation in the adipose tissue. Hyperinsulinemia, as it suppresses sex hormone-binding globulin synthesis, may cause decreased serum testosterone, reflecting the association observed between serum testosterone and glucose levels in previous studies [30,31]. The same applies for the present study, where total testosterone levels were associated with increased prevalence of diabetes mellitus in elderly men.…”

The relationship between testosterone and metabolic syndrome

“…2 A number of studies have found an inverse relationship between the severity of the metabolic syndrome and plasma testosterone. 3 These previous studies agree with the results of Akishita et al 4 Adiposity and hyperinsulinemia may suppress sex hormone-binding globulin synthesis and therefore circulating testosterone levels. 5 Furthermore, insulin and leptin have a suppressive effect on testicular steroidogenesis.…”

The relationship between endogenous testosterone and lipid profile in middle-aged and elderly Chinese men

“…Hence, the relationship between testosterone and lipid levels needs intensive study. Epidemiological evidence has shown that low testosterone is related to elevated total cholesterol (TC) (15,16), triglycerides (TG) (15,16,17,18), LDL-C (16) and decreased HDL-C (15,16,17,18), and an increased incidence of dyslipidemia (19) in men in some but not in all studies (20,21). Corona et al (22) found that TRT was associated with a significant reduction of TG and an increase of HDL-C and was able to improve central obesity (subjects with MetS) and glycometabolic control (patients with MetS and T2DM) (23).…”