The Associations between Serum total Testosterone Levels, Anthropometric Measurements and Metabolic Parameters in Elderly and Young Male Patients with Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus in Taiwan

Background: The effect of age and adiposity both affecting serum total testosterone levels have not been examined in diabetes-based population. This study aimed to evaluate the associations between serum total testosterone levels, anthropometric measurements and metabolic parameters in elderly and young male patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). Methods: The study comprised 240 male subjects with T2DM enrolled from September 2014 to February 2015. Serum testosterone, waist circumference, height, weight, body mass index (BMI), fasting and postprandial blood sugar levels, glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c), total cholesterol, triglyceride (TG), and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) and high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) were assessed. We divided the subjects into two groups the elderly group (>65years) and the young group (<65 years). Correlations were assessed using Kendall's tau rank correlation analysis. Multivariable linear analyses were then performed to analyze the relationship. Results: Total testosterone was significantly and inversely correlated with age, waist circumference, weight, BMI and TG and positively correlated with HDL-C. These inverse associations with waist circumference or BMI were stronger in elderly than in young in T2DM patients in our study. These relationships showed that age, waist circumference and TG remained significant with testosterone after adjusting for HbA1c, TC, LDL, HDL-C and eGFR. Waist circumference was the only significant correlation in elderly patients after adjusting for confounding factors (HbA1c, TC, TG, LDL, HDL and eGFR), but in young patients, TG and waist circumference were both significantly correlated. Conclusion: Waist circumference shows a stronger association with testosterone levels in elderly versus younger patients with T2DM. Copyright (C) 2017, Taiwan Society of Geriatric Emergency & Critical Care Medicine. Published by Elsevier Taiwan LLC.