Premium
Adverse effects of psychosocial stress on gonadal function and insulin levels in middle‐aged males
Author(s) -
NILSSON PETER M.,
MØLLER LARS,
SOLSTAD KIM
Publication year - 1995
Publication title -
journal of internal medicine
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.625
H-Index - 160
eISSN - 1365-2796
pISSN - 0954-6820
DOI - 10.1111/j.1365-2796.1995.tb00873.x
Subject(s) - medicine , body mass index , endocrinology , psychosocial , testosterone (patch) , population , insulin , insulin resistance , luteinizing hormone , hormone , psychiatry , environmental health
. Objectives. To investigate the relationship between gonadal function, insulin and psychosocial stress in middle‐aged men. Design. A population‐based, cross‐sectional, observational study. Setting. Glostrup Hospital, Copenhagen, Denmark. Subjects. Four hundred and thirty‐nine males, all aged 51 years. Main variables. Body‐mass index (BMI), waist‐to‐hip ratio (WHR), insulin, C‐peptide, free testosterone, luteinizing hormone (LH), lipids, fibrinogen, lung function tests ( FVC , FEV 1 , PEF), blood pressure; a self‐administered questionnaire with questions on psychosocial variables, lifestyle and self‐rated health. Results. Free testosterone correlated inversely ( P < 0.05) with weight, BMI, WHR, and fibrinogen, and positively with FEV 1 . An independent correlation between free testosterone and insulin ( P ≤ 0.03), but not with C‐peptide, was seen after controlling for BMI and WHR. Subjects with low levels of free testosterone, or those in the lowest quintile of the distribution of the hypogonadal index (HI: free testosterone/LH), showed a cluster of negative psychosocial variables, and psychological as well as health‐related problems. Furthermore, hypogonadal men had lower ( P < 0.05) levels of FEV 1 , peak flow and FVC , but higher ( P < 0.01) levels of fibrinogen and higher pulse pressure than men with normal gonadal function. This gradient of variables, relative to HI, was not seen for possible confounders like BMI, WHR, and tobacco or alcohol consumption. Conclusion. Psychosocial stress may be associated with a process of premature ageing in middle‐aged males, corresponding to a hypogonadal state as well as to indirect signs of increased insulin resistance.