Increased occurrence of marked elevations of lipoprotein(a) in ageing, hypercholesterolaemic men with low testosterone

Figures & data

Table I.  Demographics and baseline characteristics.

Baseline characteristics	Baseline testosterone, <15 nmol/l, N = 70	Baseline testosterone, ≥15 nmol/l, N = 37	All patients, combined, N = 107
Mean (SD) age (years) at baseline	55.5 (9.0)	54.3 (12.9)	55.1 (10.5)
Median (SD for median) TG (mmol/l)	1.9 (1.1)	1.7 (1.2)	1.9 (1.2)
Mean (SD) HDL-C (mmol/l)	1.2 (0.2)	1.2 (0.3)	1.2 (0.3)
Mean (SD) LDL-C (mmol/l)	5.4 (1.7)	5.2 (1.3)	5.3 (1.6)
Mean (SD) BMI (kg/m^2)	29.3 (3.9)	27.6 (3.2)	28.7 (3.7)
Mean (SD) FBG (mmol/l)	5.7 (1.1)	5.6 (1.0)	5.6 (1.1)
Mean (SD) SBP (mmHg)	128.9 (13.4)	125.5 (13.0)	127.7 (13.3)
Mean (SD) DBP (mmHg)	80.6 (8.1)	79.1 (8.3)	80.1 (8.1)
Mean (SD) testosterone (nmol/l)	11.4 (2.1)	18.5 (2.8)	13.8 (4.2)
Mean (SD) Lp(a) (μmol/l)	1.7 (1.9)	1.4 (1.2)	1.6 (1.7)
No (%) patients with the metabolic syndrome*	27 (38.6)	7 (18.9)	34 (31.8)

TG, triglycerides; HDL-C, high-density lipoprotein cholesterol; LDL-C, low-density lipoprotein cholesterol; BMI, body mass index; FPG, fasting plasma glucose; SBP, systolic blood pressure; DBP, diastolic blood pressure; Lp(a), lipoprotein(a).

*Patients were defined as having the metabolic syndrome if they met three or more of the following National Cholesterol Education Program Adult Treatment Panel III (NCEP ATP III) criteria [2]: diagnosis of diabetes or FPG ≥6.1 mmol/l or taking anti-diabetic medication; TG ≥1.7 mmol/l; HDL-C <1.0 mmol/l; BMI ≥30 kg/m² (surrogate of waist circumference >102 cm); and diagnosis of hypertension or blood pressure ≥130/85 mmHg or taking anti-hypertension medication.

Figure 1.  Scatterplot of baseline lipoprotein(a) [Lp(a)] versus baseline serum testosterone in 107 US men who participated in a lipid treatment study.

Figure 2.  Percentage of men with baseline lipoprotein(a) [Lp(a)] levels ≥3 times the upper limit of normal (ULN) (≥3.2 μmol/l), presented by baseline total serum testosterone (T) level.

Laaksonen DE, Niskanen L, Punnonen K, Nyyssonen K, Tuomainen TP, Salonen R, Rauramaa R, Salonen JT. Sex hormones, inflammation and the metabolic syndrome: a population-based study. Eur J Endocrinol 2003;149:601–608.

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