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Endogenous testosterone and serum lipids in middle-aged men.

Mäkinen JI, Perheentupa A, Irjala K, Pöllänen P, Mäkinen J, Huhtaniemi I, Raitakari OT

Department of Clinical Physiology, University of Turku, FIN-20520 Turku, Finland. juumak@utu.fi

BACKGROUND: The role of decreasing testosterone levels influencing lipid metabolism in aging men is not well established. METHODS: We studied 1619 40 to 69-year old men with andropausal symptoms, who underwent measurements of serum testosterone, triglycerides, total-, and HDL-cholesterol. RESULTS: Testosterone (mean 15.25 nmol/l+/-5.43 S.D., range 3.6-45.0 nmol/l) correlated directly with HDL-cholesterol (r=0.24, p<0.0001) and inversely with total cholesterol (r=-0.06, p<0.03), triglycerides (r=-0.30, p<0.0001) and body mass index (r=-0.34, p<0.0001), but not with LDL-cholesterol (r=0.05, p=0.09). In multivariate analyses adjusted for age, body mass index, smoking, alcohol consumption, diabetes and cardiovascular diseases, the significant determinants for serum triglycerides were testosterone (beta=-0.03, p<0.0001), age (beta=-0.01, p<0.0001), body mass index (beta=0.039, p<0.0001) and cardiovascular diseases (beta=0.09, p<0.04). The multivariate correlates of HDL-cholesterol included testosterone (beta=0.007, p<0.0001), body mass index (beta=-0.02, p<0.0001) and alcohol consumption (beta=0.02, p<0.0001). CONCLUSIONS: We conclude that in aging men low testosterone levels are associated with a potentially atherogenic lipid profile including high triglycerides and low HDL-cholesterol.

Published 31 March 2008 in Atherosclerosis, 197(2): 688-93.
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