Is low testosterone concentration a risk factor for metabolic syndrome in healthy middle-aged men?

Abstract

OBJECTIVE:

To clarify the probability of low serum testosterone level as a risk factor for metabolic syndrome (MS) in middle-aged men, we measured serum total testosterone (TT) and assessed several metabolic factors because the direct risk for MS has not been investigated fully in men.

METHODS:

This study comprised 1150 men aged ≥30 years. Physical and laboratory variables were assessed. Analyses were conducted to determine the association between serum TT level and incidence risk of MS and MS factors by a separate logistic regression model.

RESULTS:

Mean (± standard deviation [SD]) serum TT level was 5.4 ± 1.7 ng/mL in the 1150 men, and only 92 men (8.0%) were classified as having MS by the Japanese criteria. In age-adjusted analyses, higher levels of serum TT were independently associated with a lower risk of MS (odds ratio, per SD decrement of TT, 2.3; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.7-2.9). MS risk increased by lower quintile of TT: ORs were 15.1 (95% CI, 4.6-50.0) for first quintile, 8.8 (95% CI, 2.6-29.9) for second quintile, 5.8 (95% CI, 1.7-20.5) for third quintile, and 5.0 (95% CI, 1.4-17.9) for fourth quintile compared with highest quintile of TT. Age-adjusted ORs for the incidence of dichotomous components of MS per SD decrement of TT were 1.8 (95% CI, 1.5-2.3) for waist circumference, 1.6 (95% CI, 1.1-2.2) for dyslipidemia, and 1.5 (95% CI, 1.2-1.8) for hypertension.

CONCLUSION:

We found that higher probability of MS was associated with lower levels of serum TT level in relatively healthy middle-aged Japanese men.

• Authors: Akira Tsujimura, Yasushi Miyagawa, Kentaro Takezawa, Hidenobu Okuda, Shinichiro Fukuhara, Hiroshi Kiuchi, Tetsuya Takao, Ryohei Yamamoto, Makoto Nishida, Keiko Yamauchi-Takihara, Toshiki Moriyama, Norio Nonomura
• Journal: Urology (Urology) Vol. 82 Issue 4 Pg. 814-9 (Oct 2013) ISSN: 1527-9995 [Electronic] United States
• PMID: 24074976 (Publication Type: Journal Article)
• Copyright: Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Chemical References

• Testosterone

Topics

• Adult
• Humans
• Incidence
• Male
• Metabolic Syndrome (blood, epidemiology)
• Risk Factors
• Testosterone (blood)