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Submitted on February 2, 2007
Accepted on August 13, 2007
Departments of Internal Medicine and Geriatrics, Gothenburg University, Gothenburg, Sweden; Clinical and Molecular Osteoporosis Research Unit, Department of Clinical Sciences, Lund University, Department of Orthopaedics, Malmö University Hospital, Malmö, Sweden; Department of Radiology, Sahlgrenska University Hospital, Gothenburg, Sweden; Department of Interventional Radiology, Rigs Hospital, Copenhagen, Denmark; Bone and Mineral Unit, Oregon Health and Sciences University, Portland, OR; Laboratory of Molecular Endocrinology and Oncology, Laval University Hospital Research Center (CRCHUL) and Laval University, Québec, Canada; and Department of Medical Sciences, University of Uppsala, Uppsala, Sweden
* To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: Claes.Ohlsson{at}medic.gu.se.
Context: Androgens are associated with metabolic risk factors in men. However, the independent impact of androgens and androgen metabolites on metabolic risk factors in men is unclear.
Objective: Our objective was to determine the predictive value of serum levels of androgens and glucuronidated androgen metabolites for metabolic risk factors.
Design and Study Subjects: We conducted a population-based study of two Swedish cohorts (1068 young adult and 1001 elderly men).
Main Outcome Measures: We measured correlation of serum dihydrotestosterone (DHT), testosterone (T) and glucuronidated androgen metabolites with fat mass, fat distribution, serum lipids and insulin resistance.
Results: Both DHT and T were negatively associated with different measures of fat mass in both cohorts (P<0.001). Further statistical analysis indicated that DHT, but not T, was independently negatively associated with different measures of fat mass and insulin resistance (P<0.001). The glucuronidated androgen metabolite androstane-3
,17
-diol-17glucuronide (17G) was independently positively associated with fat mass (P<0.001). Most importantly, the 17G/DHT ratio was strongly correlated, not only with fat mass, but also with central fat distribution, intra-hepatic fat, disturbed lipid profile, insulin resistance and diabetes, explaining a substantial part of the total variance in total body fat (12% in young adult men, 15% in elderly men), the HOMA index (10%) and HDL cholesterol (7%).
Conclusion: Our findings demonstrate that 17-glucuronidation of the DHT metabolite androstane-3
,17
-diol is strongly associated with several metabolic risk factors in men. Future longitudinal studies are required to determine the possible impact of the 17G/DHT ratio as a metabolic risk factor in men.
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