Influence of free testosterone on antigen levels of plasminogen activator inhibitor-1 in premenopausal women with central obesity.
Women with upper body obesity are at increased risk for cardiovascular disease (CVD). Several studies have demonstrated a reduced fibrinolytic activity in these patients, mainly due to an enhanced activity of plasminogen activator inhibitor-1 (PAI-1). Since an increase of androgenic activity is a feature of central obesity in women, the present study was aimed at evaluating the possibility of a relationship between androgens and PAI-1 (antigen and activity) in 20 premenopausal women, 10 with upper body obesity and 10 controls. In obese women, PAI-1 antigen showed a positive Pearson correlation with free testosterone (FT), insulin, c-peptide, triglycerides (TG), and waist to hip ratio (WHR) (P less than .01), whereas PAI-1 activity correlated positively only with insulin and WHR (P less than .01). In control women, PAI-1 antigen and activity were positively related only to TG (P less than .01). When we applied the multiple regression model with stepwise backward method to our data, both PAI-1 antigen and activity did not maintain any significant association. However, when the data from both the groups were pooled (n = 20), and PAI-1 antigen was considered as the dependent variable, body weight (Sig T = 0.0001), TG (Sig T = 0.0053), FT (Sig T = 0.013), and luteinizing hormone (LH) (Sig T = 0.0474) met the stepwise criteria, suggesting an independent effect of each of these parameters on PAI-1 antigen. On the other hand, when PAI-1 activity was tested as the dependent variable, only body weight maintained a significant relationship with this parameter (Sig T = 0.0006).(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
De Pergola
G
G
Istituto di Clinica Medica, Endocrinologia e Malattie del Ricambio, Università di Bari, Italy.
De Mitrio
V
V
Perricci
A
A
Cignarelli
M
M
Garruti
G
G
Lomuscio
S
S
Ferri
G
G
Schiraldi
O
O
Giorgino
R
R
D002096:C-Peptide / Q000097:blood*; D005260:Female; D005640:Follicle Stimulating Hormone / Q000097:blood*; D006801:Humans; D007328:Insulin / Q000097:blood*; D007986:Luteinizing Hormone / Q000097:blood*; D008593:Menopause; D008598:Menstruation; D008875:Middle Aged; D009765:Obesity / Q000097:blood*; D015849:Plasminogen Inactivators / Q000097:blood* / Q000378:metabolism; D012016:Reference Values; D012738:Sex Hormone-Binding Globulin / Q000032:analysis; D013739:Testosterone / Q000097:blood*
D002096:C-Peptide; D007328:Insulin; D015849:Plasminogen Inactivators; D012738:Sex Hormone-Binding Globulin; D013739:Testosterone; D007986:Luteinizing Hormone; D005640:Follicle Stimulating Hormone