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Asian Journal of Andrology (2012) 14, 612-615; doi:10.1038/aja.2012.19; published online 23 April 2012
Inverse relationship between bioavailable testosterone and subclinical coronary artery calcification in non-obese Korean men
Byoung-Jin Park1, Jae-Yong Shim1, Yong-Jae Lee1, Jung-Hyun Lee2 and Hye-Ree Lee1
1 Department of Family Medicine, Yonsei University College of Medicine, Seoul 135-720, Korea
2 Department of Health Promotion Center, Gangnam Severance Hospital, Yonsei University College of Medicine, Seoul 135-720, Korea
Correspondence: Dr HR Lee, (love0614@yuhs.ac)
Received 8 November 2011; Revised 22 November 2011; Accepted 10 January 2012
Advance online publication 23 April 2012.
| Abstract |
Although low testosterone levels in men have been associated with high risk for cardiovascular disease, little is known about the association between male sex hormones and subclinical coronary disease in men with apparently low cardiometabolic risk. This study was performed to investigate the association between male sex hormones and subclinical coronary artery calcification measured as coronary calcium score in non-obese Korean men. We examined the relationship of total testosterone, sex hormone-binding globulin, bioavailable testosterone and free testosterone with coronary calcium score in 291 non-obese Korean men (mean age: 52.8±9.3 years) not having a history of cardiovascular disease. Using multiple linear regression, we evaluated associations between log (sex hormone) levels and log (coronary calcium score) after adjusting for confounding variables in 105 men with some degree of coronary calcification defined as coronary calcium score≥1. In multiple linear regression analysis, bioavailable testosterone was inversely associated with coronary calcium score (P=0.046) after adjusting for age, body mass index, smoking status, alcohol consumption, regular exercise, mean blood pressure, resting heart rate, C-reactive protein, fasting plasma glucose, total cholesterol, triglyceride, high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol, hypertension medication and hyperlipidemia medication, whereas total testosterone, sex hormone-binding globulin and free testosterone were not (P=0.674, P=0.121 and P=0.102, respectively). Our findings indicate that bioavailable testosterone is inversely associated with the degree of subclinical coronary artery calcification in non-obese men.
Keywords: bioavailable testosterone; cardiovascular disease; coronary calcium score; male sex hormone; subclinical coronary artery disease; testosterone |
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