The relationship between endogenous testosterone and lipid profile in middle-aged and elderly Chinese men

To evaluate the relationship between serum total testosterone (TT) level and lipid profile after adjusting for some traditional confounding factors, free thyroid hormones and TSH in Chinese men.

This was a retrospective study based on an epidemiological investigation including 11 000 subjects. Bivariate and partial correlation analysis, multiple linear regression analysis, and a general linear model were used to assess the influence of TT on the lipid profile. Additionally, the odds ratios (ORs) (95% CIs) for hypertriglyceridemia and low HDL-C in relation to TT categories were calculated using logistic regression analysis.

A total of 4114 subjects whose mean age was 56.04±8.75 years were finally analyzed. There was a significant linear trend toward lower total cholesterol (TC), lower triglycerides (TG), and higher HDL-C with increasing serum TT, which remained significant after adjusting for age, BMI, fasting blood glucose, systolic blood pressure, free triiodothyronine, free thyroxine, and TSH. Compared with the bottom quartile of TT, the adjusted OR (95% CI) for hypertriglyceridemia and low HDL-C was 0.082 (0.048-0.138, P=0.000) and 0.669 (0.503-0.891, P=0.006) respectively in the top quartile of TT.

TT was correlated negatively and linearly with TC, TG, and LDL-C and positively and linearly with HDL-C. Low TT might have adverse effects on the lipid profile and thus represent a risk factor for hypercholesterolemia, hypertriglyceridemia, high LDL-C, and low HDL-C, suggesting the importance of maintaining an appropriate TT level in men.