Endogenous Sex Hormones and Metabolic Syndrome in Aging Men

Background: Sex hormone levels in men change during ag-ing. These changes may be associated with insulin sensitivity and the metabolic syndrome. Methods:Westudied theassociationbetweenendogenoussex hormones and characteristics of themetabolic syndrome in 400 independently livingmenbetween 40 and 80 yr of age in a cross-sectional study.Serumconcentrationsof lipids, glucose, insulin, total testosterone (TT), SHBG, estradiol (E2), and dehydroepi-androsterone sulfate (DHEA-S) were measured. Bioavailable testosterone (BT) was calculated using TT and SHBG. Body height, weight, waist-hip circumference, blood pressure, and physical activity were assessed. Smoking and alcohol consump-tion was estimated from self-report. The metabolic syndrome was defined according to the National Cholesterol Education Program definition, and insulin sensitivity was calculated by use of the quantitative insulin sensitivity check index. Results: Multiple logistic regression analyses showed an inverse relationship according to 1 SD increase for circulatin