Low serum testosterone as predictor of metabolic syndrome in men
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Decreased levels of sex hormones in males are cross-sectionally and longitudinally associated with metabolic syndrome. The study aimed to investigate the prospective association of serum testosterone and dehydroepiandrosterone sulfate (DHEAS) levels with incident metabolic syndrome (NCEP ATP III criteria) in 1004 men participating in the Study of Health in Pomerania, a population-based prospective cohort of 20-79 years old. Following a median follow-up of 5.0 years, incident metabolic syndrome occurred in 480 men. Testosterone levels decreased with increasing number of individual metabolic syndrome components. After adjusting for multiple confounding factors, testosterone in the lowest quartile predicted metabolic syndrome, in particular among men aged 20-39 years at inclusion. DHEAS levels were not related to incident metabolic syndrome. In conclusion, low testosterone, but not DHEAS, levels predicted subsequent development of a metabolic syndrome, especially in young men aged 20-39 years. Thus, assessing testosterone levels in young and middle-aged men may enable early interventions to prevent metabolic syndrome incidence in a general male population.
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