Higher Serum Testosterone Concentration in Older Women is Associated with Insulin Resistance, Metabolic Syndrome, and Cardiovascular Disease
2009/10/21 by Shrita M. Patel, Sarah J. Ratcliffe, Muredach P. Reilly +9 · 131 citations
Medicine · Psychology · #Abdominal obesity #Confidence interval #Endocrinology #Evolutionary Psychology and Human Behavior #Glucose homeostasis #Hormonal and reproductive studies #Insulin #Insulin resistance #Internal medicine #Medicine #Menopause: Health Impacts and Treatments #Metabolic syndrome #Obesity #Odds ratio #Quartile
paper · open access · doi:10.1210/jc.2009-0740
published in The Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism 94(12), 4776-4784 (Oxford University Press)
openalex publication_date 2009/10/21 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/08/01
Abstract
CONTEXT: Early postmenopausal women with higher testosterone (T) levels have increased insulin resistance (IR) and cardiovascular risk factors, but whether this translates into increased cardiovascular disease later in life is unknown. OBJECTIVE: The objective of the study was to determine whether higher T levels are associated with IR, the metabolic syndrome (MetSyn), and coronary heart disease (CHD) in elderly women. DESIGN: Total T and free T by equilibrium dialysis were measured using ultrasensitive assays in 344 women aged 65-98 yr enrolled in the Cardiovascular Health Study. Cross-sectional analyses were performed to examine the associations between total and free T and IR, MetSyn, and CHD. RESULTS: There was a stepwise increase in the homeostasis model assessment of insulin resistance with increasing total (P = 0.0.003) and free T (P = 0.02) level and a corresponding decrease in Quantitative Insulin Sensitivity Check Index (P < 0.001 and P = 0.002, respectively). In adjusted models, higher levels of both total and free T were strongly associated with abdominal obesity and high fasting glucose, the two MetSyn components most strongly linked to IR. After adjustment, women in the top quartile of total T levels had a 3-fold greater odds of MetSyn (odds ratio 3.15, 95% confidence interval 1.57-6.35) than those in the bottom quartile and a 3-fold greater odds of CHD (odds ratio 2.95, 95% confidence interval 1.2-7.3) than those in second quartile, whereas free T was not significantly associated with MetSyn or CHD. CONCLUSIONS: Higher levels of T are associated with IR, MetSyn, and CHD in elderly women. Whether T is a marker or mediator of cardiovascular disease in this population merits further investigation.
Citations
Cited by
- Metabolic Messengers: testosterone
- Sex steroid hormones and subclinical atherosclerosis progression in postmenopausal women
- Effects of metformin and leuprolide acetate on insulin resistance and testosterone levels in nondiabetic postmenopausal women: a randomized, placebo-controlled trial. [europepmc]
- Hormone treatment and muscle anabolism during aging: androgens. [europepmc]
- Sex hormone concentrations and the risk of breast cancer recurrence in postmenopausal women without hot flashes. [europepmc]
- Relation between sex hormone concentrations, peripheral arterial disease, and change in ankle-brachial index: findings from the Framingham Heart Study. [europepmc]
- Age at menarche and cardiovascular disease mortality in Singaporean Chinese women: the Singapore Chinese Health Study. [europepmc]
- The androgen receptor confers protection against diet-induced atherosclerosis, obesity, and dyslipidemia in female mice. [europepmc]
- Testosterone and Cardiovascular Disease. [europepmc]
- The impact of supervised weight loss and intentional weight regain on sex hormone binding globulin and testosterone in premenopausal women. [europepmc]
- Cross-sectional association of endogenous steroid hormone, sex hormone-binding globulin, and precursor steroid levels with hemostatic factor levels in postmenopausal women. [europepmc]
- Relationships of sex hormone levels with leukocyte telomere length in Black, Hispanic, and Asian/Pacific Islander postmenopausal women. [europepmc]
- Reproductive Hormones and Subclinical Cardiovascular Disease in Midlife Women. [europepmc]
- Sex differences in endothelial function important to vascular health and overall cardiovascular disease risk across the lifespan. [europepmc]
- Association of endogenous sex hormone levels with coronary artery calcium progression among post-menopausal women in the Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis (MESA). [europepmc]
- Persistent Poor Metabolic Profile in Postmenopausal Women With Ovarian Hyperandrogenism After Testosterone Level Normalization. [europepmc]
- Association of serum androgens and coronary artery calcium scores in women. [europepmc]
- Urinary concentrations of environmental phenols and their associations with breast cancer incidence and mortality following breast cancer. [europepmc]
- A cross-sectional survey of adrenal steroid hormones among overweight/obese boys according to puberty stage. [europepmc]
- Sex Hormones and Incident Heart Failure in Men and Postmenopausal Women: The Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities Study. [europepmc]
- Predicted Skeletal Muscle Mass and 4-Year Cardiovascular Disease Incidence in Middle-Aged and Elderly Participants of IKARIA Prospective Epidemiological Study: The Mediating Effect of Sex and Cardiometabolic Factors. [europepmc]
- Hormonal and Metabolic Changes of Aging and the Influence of Lifestyle Modifications. [europepmc]
- The association between serum testosterone levels and metabolic syndrome among women. [europepmc]
- Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome and Menopause in Forty Plus Women. [europepmc]
- Sexual dimorphism in testosterone programming of cardiomyocyte development in sheep. [europepmc]
- Association between serum total testosterone levels and metabolic syndrome among adult women in the United States, NHANES 2011-2016. [europepmc]
- Associations of Menstrual Cycle Regularity and Length With Cardiovascular Diseases: A Prospective Study From UK Biobank. [europepmc]
Related