Associations of Metabolic Syndrome with Total Testosterone and Homocysteine Levels in Male Korean Workers.
BACKGROUND
Low testosterone is associated with metabolic syndrome (MetS), and homocysteine (Hcy) is elevated in individuals with MetS. We investigated the relationships of total testosterone (TT) and serum Hcy levels with MetS in male Korean workers.


METHODS
We conducted a cross-sectional study including 8,606 male workers, aged 20 to 58 years, who underwent a physical examination in 2015. MetS was diagnosed based on the criteria of the 2009 harmonized definition, while the Korean standard for waist circumference (WC) was used. Participants' biochemical parameters, including TT and serum Hcy, were measured, and participants were divided into quartiles. Multiple logistic regression models were used to estimate the association of MetS and its individual components depending on TT and serum Hcy quartiles.


RESULTS
The prevalence of MetS in the study population was 16%. TT was lower in participants with MetS than in those without MetS (P<0.001). By contrast, Hcy level was similar between groups (P=0.694). In multiple logistic regression analysis, the odds ratio for the lowest TT quartile was 1.29 (95% confidence interval, 1.06 to 1.57) after adjusting for potential confounders. Participants with lower TT were more likely to have high WC, hypertriglyceridemia, and low high density lipoprotein levels. Serum Hcy levels were not significantly associated with MetS. Of the five components of MetS, only WC was significantly associated with serum Hcy.


CONCLUSION
In male Korean workers, TT may be an independent predictor of MetS, and serum Hcy levels could be a marker of abdominal obesity. However, future prospective studies are needed.
['Sung|Sook Hee|SH|0000-0001-8308-2301', 'Kim|Nam Hee|NH|0000-0001-5378-6260', 'Hong|Sun Pyo|SP|0000-0001-8882-5901', 'Lee|Jong Keun|JK|0000-0003-1376-3202', 'Choi|Seung Jin|SJ|0000-0002-4488-187X']
D000328:Adult D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies D006710:Homocysteine D006801:Humans D008297:Male D024821:Metabolic Syndrome D008875:Middle Aged D056910:Republic of Korea D013739:Testosterone D014937:Work D055815:Young Adult
Metabolic syndrome Testosterone Homocysteine Odds ratio