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Low serum testosterone level as a predictor of increased visceral fat in Japanese-American men

International Journal of Obesity volume 24, pages 485–491 (2000)Cite this article

Abstract

OBJECTIVE: To examine the association between baseline testosterone levels and changes in visceral adiposity in Japanese-American men.

DESIGN: Prospective observational study.

SUBJECTS: Second-generation Japanese-American males enrolled in a community-based population study.

MEASUREMENTS: At baseline, 110 men received a 75 g oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT), and an assessment of body mass index (BMI); visceral adiposity measured as intra-abdominal fat area (IAF) using computed tomography (CT); fasting insulin and C-peptide levels; and total testosterone levels. IAF was re-measured after 7.5 y. Subcutaneous fat areas were also measured by CT in the abdomen, thorax and thigh. The total fat (TF) was calculated as the sum of IAF and total subcutanous fat areas (SCF).

RESULTS: After 7.5 y, IAF increased by a mean of 8.0 cm2 (95% CI: 0.8, 15.3). Baseline total testosterone was significantly correlated with change in IAF (r=−0.26, P=0.006), but not to any appreciable degree with change in BMI, TF, or SCF. In a linear regression model with change in IAF as the dependent variable, baseline testosterone was significantly related to this outcome while adjusting for baseline IAF, SCF, BMI, age, diabetes mellitus status (OGTT by the WHO diagnostic criteria) and fasting C-peptide (regression coefficient for baseline testosterone [nmol/l]=−107.13, P=0.003).

CONCLUSIONS: In this Japanese-American male cohort, lower baseline total testosterone independently predicts an increase in IAF. This would suggest that by predisposing to an increase in visceral adiposity, low levels of testosterone may increase the risk of type 2 diabetes mellitus.

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Acknowledgements

This work was supported by NIH grants DK 31170, HL 49293, RR 00037, DK 35816 and DK 17047. Dr Tsai is supported by a Health Services fellowship from the Health Services Research and Development, US Department of Veterans Affairs. We wish to thank Ms Jane Shofer for her skilled technical support in maintaining the JACDS database. We are grateful to the King County Japanese American Community for their support and cooperation

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  1. Department of Medicine, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA

    EC Tsai, EJ Boyko & WY Fujimoto

  2. Department of Anthropology, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA

    DL Leonetti

  3. The Seattle Epidemiologic Research and Information Center, Veterans Affairs Puget Sound Health Care System, Seattle, WA, USA

    EJ Boyko

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Tsai, E., Boyko, E., Leonetti, D. et al. Low serum testosterone level as a predictor of increased visceral fat in Japanese-American men. Int J Obes 24, 485–491 (2000). https://doi.org/10.1038/sj.ijo.0801183

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