title: Serum Ferritin Is Inversely Correlated with Testosterone in Boys and Young Male Adolescents: A Cross-Sectional Study in Taiwan.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The transition from childhood to teenaged years is associated with increased testosterone and a decreased iron status. It is not clear whether higher testosterone levels cause the decreased iron status, and to what extent, obesity-related inflammation influences the iron-testosterone relationship. The aim of the present study was to examine relationships of testosterone, iron status, and anti-/proinflammatory cytokines in relation to nutritional status in boys and young adolescent Taiwanese males.
  
  
  METHODS
  In total, 137 boys aged 7~13 yr were included. Parameters for obesity, the iron status, testosterone, and inflammatory markers were evaluated.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Overweight and obese (ow/obese) boys had higher mean serum testosterone, interleukin (IL)-1β, and nitric oxide (NO) levels compared to their normal-weight counterparts (all p<0.05). Mean serum ferritin was slightly higher in ow/obese boys compared to normal-weight boys, but this did not reach statistical significance. A multiple linear regression showed that serum ferritin (β = -0.7470, p = 0.003) was inversely correlated with testosterone, while serum IL-10 (β = 0.3475, p = 0.009) was positively associated with testosterone after adjusting for covariates. When normal-weight boys were separately assessed from ow/obesity boys, the association between testosterone and serum ferritin became stronger (β = -0.9628, p<0.0001), but the association between testosterone and IL-10 became non-significant (β = 0.1140, p = 0.4065) after adjusting for covariates. In ow/obese boys, only IL-10 was weakly associated with serum testosterone (β = 0.6444, p = 0.051) after adjusting for age.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Testosterone and serum ferritin are intrinsically interrelated but this relationship is weaker in ow/obese boys after adjusting for age.
authors.affiliation: Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Department of Internal Medicine, Taipei Medical University Hospital, Taipei, Taiwan.|Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Department of Internal Medicine, School of Medicine, College of Medicine, Taipei Medical University, Taipei, Taiwan.
authors.forename: Kuo-Ching
authors.initials: KC
authors.lastname: Chao
authors.affiliation: Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Department of Internal Medicine, Taipei Medical University Hospital, Taipei, Taiwan.|Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Department of Internal Medicine, School of Medicine, College of Medicine, Taipei Medical University, Taipei, Taiwan.
authors.forename: Chun-Chao
authors.initials: CC
authors.lastname: Chang
authors.affiliation: School of Public Health, College of Public Health and Nutrition, Taipei Medical University, Taipei, Taiwan.
authors.forename: Hung-Yi
authors.initials: HY
authors.lastname: Chiou
authors.affiliation: School of Nutrition and Health Sciences, College of Public Health and Nutrition, Taipei Medical University, Taipei, Taiwan.
authors.forename: Jung-Su
authors.initials: JS
authors.lastname: Chang
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D002648:Child; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D016207:Cytokines / Q000097:blood; D005293:Ferritins / Q000097:blood*; D006801:Humans; D007501:Iron / Q000097:blood; D008297:Male; D013624:Taiwan; D013739:Testosterone / Q000097:blood*
chemical_list: D016207:Cytokines; D013739:Testosterone; D005293:Ferritins; D007501:Iron