Inverse association between total testosterone concentrations, incident hypertension and blood pressure

Figures & data

Table I. Characteristics of cohort of 1484 men.

Variable	Baseline		Follow-up
	No prevalent hypertension, (N = 733)	Prevalent hypertension, (N = 751)	No incident hypertension, (N = 627)	Incident hypertension, (N = 106)
Age, years	45.6 (15.2)	55.4 (13.9)*	47.8 (14.2)	65.6 (10.9)*
Total testosterone (nmol/l)	17.4 (5.7)	15.7 (5.6)*	18.7 (6.4)	16.2 (5.9)*
Waist circumference (cm)	92.5 (11.1)	98.9 (11.0)*	91.0 (10.4)	101.5 (10.9)*
Physically active (%)	47.1	37.7*	28.2	21.7*
Current smoker (%)	37.4	25.2*	36.9	13.2*
Alcohol consumption (g/day)	19.5 (22.5)	20.7 (24.3)	16.1 (18.7)	10.1 (13.3)*
Systolic blood pressure (mmHg)	134.6 (16.3)	149.4 (18.4)*	124.9 (9.3)	124.7 (12.1)
Diastolic blood pressure (mmHg)	83.4 (10.2)	89.4 (11.5)*	78.9 (6.6)	74.9 (8.9)*
Pulse pressure (mmHg)	51.3 (11.0)	60.0 (14.2)*	46.1 (7.4)	49.8 (11.0)*

Values shown are expressed as mean (SD) or percentage.

Total testosterone concentrations may be converted to ng/dl by multiplying these values by 28.82.

*p < 0.05 for tested differences between both men with and without prevalent hypertension at baseline as well as between men with and without incident hypertension at follow-up, based on the χ² test or the analysis of variance (T test).

Table II. Association of baseline total testosterone concentrations (in quartiles) with change in blood pressure variables from GEE analyses.

	Hypertension, OR (95% CI)	Systolic blood pressure, (mmHg) (95% CI)	Diastolic blood pressure, (mmHg) (95% CI)	Pulse pressure, (mmHg) (95% CI)
Total population (N = 1484)
Model 1, (Q 4) Ref.	Q1: 1.17 (1.10; 1.24)*	−5.52 (−7.55; −3.49)*	−2.10 (−3.25; −0.94)*	−3.43 (−4.78; −2.07)*
	Q2: 1.11 (1.06; 1.17)*	−6.33 (−8.37; −4.29)*	−3.08 (−4.24; −1.92)*	−3.25 (−4.64; −1.86)*
	Q3: 1.11 (1.06; 1.17)*	−8.30 (−10.05; −6.53)*	−3.80 (−4.88; −2.72)*	−4.50 (−5.72; −3.28)*
Model 2, (Q 4) Ref.	Q1: 1.19 (1.10; 1.28)*	−6.01 (−8.32; −3.69)*	−2.11 (−3.44; −0.78)*	−3.98 (−5.51; −2.43)*
	Q2: 1.11 (1.05; 1.17)*	−6.60 (−8.93; −4.27)*	−3.24 (−4.55; −1.92)*	−3.43 (−4.98; −1.87)*
	Q3: 1.13 (1.07; 1.20)*	−8.37 (−10.33; −6.41)*	−4.00 (−5.19; −2.81)*	−4.37 (−5.74; −3.03)*
Subpopulation of men without antihypertensive medication (N = 789)
Model 1	Q1: 1.01 (0.97; 1.05)	−3.88 (−5.99; −1.78)*	−0.73 (−1.90; 0.45)	−3.14 (−4.74; −1.54)*
	Q2: 0.99 (0.98; 1.02)	−4.78 (−6.78; −2.79)*	−2.26 (−3.47; −1.05)*	−2.52 (−3.93; −1.11)*
	Q3: 0.99 (0.98; 1.03)	−7.58 (−9.43; −5.73)*	−3.02 (−4.11; −1.92)*	−4.52 (−5.85; −3.20)*
Model 2	Q1: 1.00 (0.99; 1.01)	−4.09 (−6.53; −1.64)*	−0.70 (−2.05; 0.65)	−3.38 (−5.23; −1.53)*
	Q2: 1.00 (0.99; 1.01)	−5.37 (−7.56; −3.18)*	−2.53 (−3.87; −1.18)*	−2.81 (−4.32; −1.30)*
	Q3: 1.00 (0.99; 1.01)	−7.34 (−9.34; −5.34)*	−3.12 (−4.32; −1.92)*	−4.17 (−5.62; −2.73)*
Stratified by blood sampling time (<11 a.m. vs. ≥11 a.m.) (Model 2)
<11 a.m. (N = 778)	Q1: 1.19 (1.09; 1.30)*	−3.59 (−7.02; −0.17)*	−1.52 (−3.54; 0.50)	−2.04 (−4.48; 0.39)
	Q2: 1.12 (1.04; 1.20)*	−7.07 (−10.33, −3.80)*	−2.15 (−4.24; −0.05)*	−4.92 (−6.88; −2.96)*
	Q3: 1.10 (1.02; 1.19)*	−7.85 (−10.99; −4.72)*	−2.65 (−4.50; −0.80)*	−5.27 (−7.49; −3.04)*
≥11 a.m. (N = 706)	Q1: 1.22 (1.09; 1.38)*	−8.03 (−11.58; −4.48)*	−2.96 (−5.02; −0.89)*	−5.05 (−7.65; −2.44)*
	Q2: 1.08 (0.99; 1.16)	−6.08 (−10.13; −2.02)*	−4.50 (−6.67; −2.32)*	−1.85 (−4.73; 1.01)
	Q3: 1.16 (1.05; 1.27)*	−9.61 (−13.10; −6.11)*	−5.33 (−7.46; −3.20)*	−4.36 (−6.81; −1.91)*

Model 1 adjusted for age.

Model 2 adjusted for age, waist circumference, physical activity, smoking and alcohol consumption.

OR, odds ratio; 95% CI, 95% confidence interval.

*p < 0.05.

Figure 1. Influence of total testosterone concentrations on systolic blood pressure, diastolic blood pressure and pulse pressure. Scatterplot for the mean of baseline and follow-up values with linear fit line (solid lines), 95% confidence interval (grey) and locally weighted scatterplot smoothing [lowess] (dashed lines). The p-values from bivariate ordinary least-square linear regression models were <0.001 for systolic blood pressure, diastolic blood pressure and pulse pressure.