Impact of testosterone treatment on postprandial triglyceride metabolism in elderly men with subnormal testosterone levels

Abstract

Objective. To investigate the impact of testosterone supplementation on postprandial triglycerides in elderly men with subnormal endogenous testosterone. Material and methods. Twenty‐six men with subnormal testosterone levels (⩽11.0 nmol/L) were randomly assigned to treatment with intramuscular testosterone or placebo for one year in a double‐blinded study. The participants underwent an oral fat load before and after the treatment period, and serum and chylomicron triglyceride levels were measured fasting and 2, 4, 6 and 8 h afterwards, together with total fat mass and fat‐free mass. Results. Total testosterone rose to low‐normal levels in the testosterone‐treated group. No differences in waist circumference, body mass index, serum levels of total cholesterol, low‐density lipoprotein cholesterol, high density lipoprotein cholesterol, fasting triglyceride concentrations or lipase activity between the groups were observed during testosterone treatment. Testosterone treatment did not affect postprandial serum and chylomicron triglyceride levels assessed by area under the curve, incremental area under the curve or triglyceride response. Total fat mass was significantly reduced (p<0.001) while fat‐free mass was significantly increased (p<0.001) in the testosterone‐treated group. Conclusion. Normalizing testosterone levels in elderly men does not seem to affect the postprandial lipid metabolism to any great extent, but has favourable effects on body composition.

• Abdominal obesity
• fat‐tolerance test
• postprandial triglycerides
• testosterone supplementation
• waist circumference

Acknowledgements

This study was supported through an independent grant from the Center for Research in the Elderly in Tromsø, Norway. We are indebted to the men who participated in our study and to staff at the Clinical Research Unit of the University Hospital of North Norway and at the CART laboratory of the University of Tromsø. Bayer Schering Pharma is acknowledged for providing the study medication free of charge and for an independent grant.