title: Endogenous testosterone and brachial artery endothelial function in middle-aged men with symptoms of late-onset hypogonadism.
abstract: In aging men, serum endogenous testosterone is inversely associated with common carotid intima-media thickness (IMT) and directly with beneficial plasma lipid levels; however, the relationship to endothelial function is poorly characterized. We examined the association between serum testosterone and endothelium-dependent brachial artery flow-mediated dilatation (FMD) in middle-aged to elderly men. A group of 83 men aged 40?69 years (mean 55.9 ± 7.5 [SD]) with andropausal symptoms were studied. We measured their serum lipids, testosterone, luteinizing hormone, mean carotid IMT and brachial artery FMD by high resolution B-mode ultrasound. Brachial FMD correlated inversely with vessel diameter (r = -0.38, p = 0.0004), alcohol consumption (r = -0.22, p = 0.047) and serum testosterone (r = -0.27, p = 0.01), but not with luteinizing hormone. In multivariate analysis, FMD was explained by testosterone (β = -0.17, p = 0.0226), high density lipoprotein cholesterol (β = 4.17, p = 0.0312) and vessel diameter (β = -4.37, p < 0.0001) when adjusted for age, body mass index, triglycerides, blood pressure, carotid IMT, smoking, alcohol consumption, cardiovascular diseases and use of lipid lowering medication (HMG-CoA reductase inhibitors). In middle-aged to elderly men, there is an inverse correlation between serum testosterone and brachial FMD. These data suggest that testosterone may have an adverse effect on systemic endothelial function.
authors.affiliation: Department of Clinical Physiology, University of Turku, Turku, Finland. juuso.makinen@utu.fi
authors.forename: Juuso I
authors.initials: JI
authors.lastname: Mäkinen
authors.forename: Antti
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Perheentupa
authors.forename: Kerttu
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Irjala
authors.forename: Pasi
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Pöllänen
authors.forename: Juha
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Mäkinen
authors.forename: Ilpo
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Huhtaniemi
authors.forename: Olli T
authors.initials: OT
authors.lastname: Raitakari
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D017668:Age of Onset; D000368:Aged; D000375:Aging / Q000097:blood / Q000502:physiology; D000428:Alcohol Drinking / Q000097:blood / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000503:physiopathology; D015992:Body Mass Index; D001916:Brachial Artery / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology*; D002318:Cardiovascular Diseases / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000503:physiopathology; D059168:Carotid Intima-Media Thickness; D008076:Cholesterol, HDL / Q000097:blood; D006801:Humans; D019161:Hydroxymethylglutaryl-CoA Reductase Inhibitors / Q000494:pharmacology; D007006:Hypogonadism / Q000097:blood* / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000503:physiopathology*; D008055:Lipids / Q000097:blood; D007986:Luteinizing Hormone / Q000097:blood; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012039:Regional Blood Flow / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology; D012907:Smoking / Q000097:blood / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000503:physiopathology; D013739:Testosterone / Q000097:blood*
chemical_list: D008076:Cholesterol, HDL; D019161:Hydroxymethylglutaryl-CoA Reductase Inhibitors; D008055:Lipids; D013739:Testosterone; D007986:Luteinizing Hormone