Skip to main content

Thank you for visiting nature.com. You are using a browser version with limited support for CSS. To obtain the best experience, we recommend you use a more up to date browser (or turn off compatibility mode in Internet Explorer). In the meantime, to ensure continued support, we are displaying the site without styles and JavaScript.

  • Original Article
  • Published:

Associations of endogenous testosterone and lipid profiles in middle-aged to older Taiwanese men

Abstract

The relationship between endogenous plasma testosterone and plasma lipids was assessed among 856 Taiwanese men 40 years old originally recruited for an epidemiological study of testosterone deficiency syndrome. Blood samples were drawn from fasting (n=562) and non-fasting (n=294) subjects between 0800 to 1100 hours. With adjustment of age, body mass index and sex hormone-binding globulin, the following results were shown: (i) triglyceride (TG) levels were negatively associated with quartile levels of testosterone, and the magnitudes of associations were greater for postprandial TGs than for fasting TGs; (ii) high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) levels were positively related to quartile levels of testosterone, but the associations became insignificant after further control of TGs; and (iii) the calculated low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) levels were positively associated with quartile levels of testosterone. Similar results were obtained in multivariate linear regression analyses with additional control of hypertension and diabetes. In these Taiwanese men, the favorable association of endogenous plasma testosterone with HDL-C counterbalances the unfavorable association of it with LDL-C, while the net influence of testosterone on plasma lipids for cardiovascular system was still in the beneficial direction due to its negative association with postprandial plasma TG levels.

This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution

Access options

Buy this article

Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  1. Berenson GS, Srinivasan SR, Cresanta JL, Foster TA, Webber LS . Dynamic changes of serum lipoproteins in children during adolescence and sexual maturation. Am J Epidemiol 1981; 113: 157–170.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  2. Kirkland RT, Keenan BS, Probstfield JL, Patsch W, Lin TL, Clayton GW et al. Decrease in plasma high-density lipoprotein cholesterol levels at puberty in boys with delayed adolescence: correlation with plasma testosterone levels. JAMA 1987; 257: 502–507.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  3. Wu FC, von Eckardstein A . Androgens and coronary artery disease. Endocr Rev 2003; 24: 183–217.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  4. Kaufman JM, Vermeulen A . The decline of androgen levels in elderly men and its clinical and therapeutic implications. Endocr Rev 2005; 26: 833–876.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  5. Lloyd-Jones DM, Larson MG, Beiser A, Levy D . Lifetime risk of developing coronary heart disease. Lancet 1999; 353: 89–92.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  6. Laughlin GA, Barrett-Connor E, Bergstrom J . Low serum testosterone and mortality in older men. J Clin Endocrinol Metab 2008; 93: 68–75.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  7. Khaw KT, Dowsett M, Folkerd E, Bingham S, Wareham N, Luben R et al. Endogenous testosterone and mortality due to all causes, cardiovascular disease, and cancer in men: European prospective investigation into cancer in Norfolk (EPIC-Norfolk) Prospective Population Study. Circulation 2007; 116: 2694–2701.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  8. Bagatell CJ, Bremner WJ . Androgen and progestagen effects on plasma lipids. Prog Cardiovasc Dis 1995; 38: 255–271.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  9. Yasui T, Uemura H, Irahara M, Arai M, Kojimahara N, Okabe R et al. Associations of endogenous sex hormones and sex hormone-binding globulin with lipid profiles in aged Japanese men and women. Clin Chim Acta 2008; 398: 43–47.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  10. Handa K, Ishii H, Kono S, Shinchi K, Imanishi K, Mihara H et al. Behavioral correlates of plasma sex hormones and their relationships with plasma lipids and lipoproteins in Japanese men. Atherosclerosis 1997; 130: 37–44.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  11. Fukai S, Akishita M, Miyao M, Ishida K, Toba K, Ouchi Y . Age-related changes in plasma androgen levels and their association with cardiovascular risk factors in male Japanese office workers. Geriatr Gerontol Int 2010; 10: 32–39.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  12. Katabami T, Kato H, Asahina T, Hinohara S, Shin T, Kawata T et al. Serum free testosterone and metabolic syndrome in Japanese men. Endocr J 2010; 57: 533–539.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  13. Vermeulen A, Verdonck L, Kaufman JM . A critical evaluation of simple methods for the estimation of free testosterone in serum. J Clin Endocrinol Metab 1999; 84: 3666–3672.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  14. Friedewald WT, Levy RI, Fredrickson DS . Estimation of the concentration of low-density lipoprotein cholesterol in plasma, without use of preparative ultracentrifuge. Clin Chem 1972; 18: 499–502.

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  15. Zilversmit DB . Atherogenic nature of triglycerides, postprandial lipidemia, and triglyceride-rich remnant lipoproteins. Clin Chem 1995; 41: 153–158.

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  16. Lichtenstein MJ, Yarnell JW, Elwood PC, Beswick AD, Sweetnam PM, Marks V et al. Sex hormones, insulin, lipids, and prevalent ischemic heart disease. Am J Epidemiol 1987; 126: 647–657.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  17. Barrett-Connor E, Khaw KT . Endogenous sex hormones and cardiovascular disease in men. A prospective population-based study. Circulation 1988; 78: 539–545.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  18. Khaw KT, Barrett-Connor E . Endogenous sex hormones, high density lipoprotein cholesterol and other lipoprotein fractions in men. Arterioscler Thromb 1991; 11: 489–494.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  19. Yarnell JW, Beswick AD, Sweetnam PM, Riad-Fahmy D . Endogenous sex hormones and ischemic heart disease in men. The Caerphilly prospective study. Arterioscler Thromb 1993; 13: 517–520.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  20. Agledahl I, Skjaerpe PA, Hansen JB, Svartberg J . Low serum testosterone in men is inversely associated with non-fasting serum triglycerides: the Tromsø study. Nutr Metab Cardiovasc Dis 2008; 18: 256–262.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  21. Freedman DS, O’Brien TR, Flanders WD, DeStefano F, Barboriak JJ . Relation of serum testosterone levels to high density lipoprotein cholesterol and other characteristics in men. Arterioscler Thromb 1991; 11: 307–315.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  22. Gyllenborg J, Rasmussen SL, Borch-Johnsen K, Heitmann BL, Skakkebaek NE, Juul A . Cardiovascular risk factors in men: the role of gonadal steroids and sex hormone-binding globulin. Metabolism 2001; 50: 882–888.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  23. Bataille V, Perret B, Evans A, Amouyel P, Arveiler D, Ducimetière P et al. Sex hormone-binding globulin is a major determinant of the lipid profiles: the PRIME study. Atherosclerosis 2005; 179: 369–373.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  24. Lapauw B, Ouwens M, ‘t Hart LM, Wuyts B, Holst JJ, T’Sjoen G et al. Sex steroids affect triglyceride handling, glucose-dependent insulinotropic popypeptide, and insulin sensitivity. Diabet Care 2010; 33: 1831–1833.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  25. Tsai EC, Boyko EJ, Leonetti DL, Fujimoto WY . Low serum testosterone level as a predictor of increased visceral fat in Japanese-American men. Int J Obes Relat Metab Disord 2000; 24: 485–491.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  26. Adiels M, Taskinen MR, Packard C, Caslake MJ, Soro-Paavonen A, Westerbacka J et al. Overproduction of large VLDL particles is driven by increased liver fat content in man. Diabetologia 2006; 49: 755–765.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  27. Oka R, Yagi K, Hifumi S, Miyamoto S, Mabuchi H, Yamagishi M et al. Postprandial triglyceridaemia in men with impaired fasting glucose, impaired glucose tolerance and diabetes. Diabet Med 2008; 25: 1008–1010.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  28. Miller GJ, Wheeler MJ, Price SG, Beckles GL, Kirkwood BR, Carson DC . Serum high density lipoprotein subclasses, testosterone and sex-hormone binding globulin in Trinidadian men of African and Indian descent. Atherosclerosis 1985; 55: 251–258.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  29. Van Pottelbergh I, Braeckman L, De Bacquer D, De Backer G, Kaufman JM . Differential contribution of testosterone and estradiol in the determination of cholesterol and lipoprotein profile in healthy middle-aged men. Atherosclerosis 2003; 166: 95–102.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  30. Page ST, Mohr BA, Link CL, O’Donnell AB, Bremner WJ, McKinlay JB . Higher testosterone levels are associated with increased high-density lipoprotein cholesterol in men with cardiovascular disease: results from the Massachusetts Male Aging Study. Asian J Androl 2008; 10: 193–200.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  31. Vaidya D, Dobs A, Gapstur SM, Golden SH, Hankinson A, Liu K et al. The association of endogenous sex hormones with lipoprotein subfraction profile in the Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis. Metabolism 2008; 57: 782–790.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  32. Gordon DJ, Probstfield JL, Garrison RJ, Neaton JD, Castelli WP, Knoke JD et al. High-density lipoprotein cholesterol and cardiovascular disease. Four prospective American studies. Circulation 1989; 79: 8–15.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  33. Baigent C, Keech A, Kearney PM, Blackwell L, Buck G, Pollicino C et al. Efficacy and safety of cholesterol-lowering treatment: prospective meta-analysis of data from 90056 participants in 14 randomised trials of statins. Lancet 2005; 366: 1267–1278.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  34. Langsted A, Freiberg JJ, Nordestgaard BG . Fasting and nonfasting lipid levels: influence of normal food intake on lipids, lipoproteins, apolipoproteins, and cardiovascular risk prediction. Circulation 2008; 118: 2047–2056.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  35. Zilversmit DB . Atherogenesis: a postprandial phenomenon. Circulation 1979; 60: 473–485.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  36. Proctor SD, Mamo JC . Retention of fluorescent-labelled chylomicron remnants within the intima of the arterial wall-evidence that plaque cholesterol may be derived from post-prandial lipoprotein. Eur J Clin Invest 1998; 28: 497–503.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  37. Nordestgaard BG, Benn M, Schnohr P, Tybjaerg-Hansen A . Nonfasting triglycerides and risk of myocardial infarction, ischemic heart disease, and death in men and women. JAMA 2007; 298: 299–308.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  38. Bansal S, Buring JE, Rifai N, Mora S, Sacks FM, Ridker PM . Fasting compared with nonfasting triglycerides and risk of cardiovascular events in women. JAMA 2007; 298: 309–316.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  39. Dai WS, Kuller LH, LaPorte RE, Gutai JP, Falvo-Gerard L, Caggiula A . The epidemiology of plasma testosterone levels in middle-aged men. Am J Epidemiol 1981; 114: 804–816.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  40. Lu CC, Jiann BP, Sun CC, Lam HC, Chu CH, Lee JK . Association of glycemic control with risk of erectile dysfunction in men with type 2 diabetes. J Sex Med 2009; 6: 1719–1728.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  41. Wall JR, Jarrett RJ, Zimmet PZ, Bailes M, Ramage CM . Fall in plasma-testosterone levels in normal male subjects in response to an oral glucose load. Lancet 1973; 1: 967–968.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  42. Oka R, Kobayashi J, Miura K, Nagasawa S, Moriuchi T, Hifumi S et al. Difference between fasting and nonfasting triglyceridemia; the influence of waist circumference. J Atheroscler Thromb 2009; 16: 633–640.

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgements

This work was supported by a grant from Orient Europharma Co., Ltd.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Corresponding author

Correspondence to H-C Wu.

Ethics declarations

Competing interests

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Jiann, BP., Hsieh, JT., Liu, SP. et al. Associations of endogenous testosterone and lipid profiles in middle-aged to older Taiwanese men. Int J Impot Res 23, 62–69 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1038/ijir.2011.5

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Revised:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/ijir.2011.5

Keywords

Search

Quick links