Mateusz Gola

Association between lipid profile and circulating concentrations of estrogens in young men

OBJECTIVES Men show higher rates of cardiovascular morbidity and mortality than pre-menopausal women and this sexual dimorphism may be related to sex-specific effects of sex steroids on cardiovascular risk factors. Unlike androgens, estrogens were not extensively investigated in relation to cardiovascular phenotypes in men. METHODS We examined associations of estradiol and estrone and their precursors (total testosterone and androstenedione) with traditional cardiovascular risk factors (lipids, blood pressure, body mass) in 933 young (median age: 19 years), apparently healthy Polish men. RESULTS Total estradiol was associated with total cholesterol (p=0.006) and high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) (p<0.001) and estrone showed the strongest associations with both total cholesterol (p<0.001) and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) (p<0.001) in the unadjusted ANOVA analysis. In the multivariable adjusted models in which other independent variables were held as constant one standard deviation increase in estradiol level was associated with 6%-standard deviation increase in total cholesterol (standardized beta=0.06, p=0.038) and 6%-standard deviation decrease in HDL-cholesterol (standardized beta=-0.06, p=0.036). An increase in estrone levels by one standard deviation was associated with respective 12%- and 13%-standard deviation increases in total cholesterol (standardized beta=0.12, p<0.001) and LDL-cholesterol levels (standardized beta=0.12, p<0.001) after controlling for other predictors of lipids. Estrone correlated linearly with androstenedione (r=0.28, p<0.001) but there was no correlation between estradiol and testosterone. Estrogens retained their independent associations with lipids after adjustment for their biochemical precursors in the multivariable analysis. CONCLUSIONS Increased levels of estrogens are associated with unfavourable lipid profile in men and this association is present early in life, before apparent manifestations of cardiovascular disease.

Inverse associations between androgens and renal function: the Young Men Cardiovascular Association (YMCA) study.

BACKGROUND Men exhibit higher risk of nondiabetic renal diseases than women. This male susceptibility to renal disease may be mediated by gender-specific factors such as sex hormones. METHODS We have undertaken a cross-sectional examination of associations between renal function (creatinine clearance estimated based on Cockcroft-Gault equation) and circulating levels of sex steroids (total testosterone, total estradiol, estrone, androstenedione, dehydroepiandrosterone sulfate (DHEA-S), and dihydrotestosterone) in 928 young (mean age: 18.5 +/- 1.2 years) men. RESULTS Both androstenedione and DHEA-S showed inverse linear associations with renal function in the crude analysis of lean men (those with body mass index (BMI) less than median). However, only DHEA-S retained its association with renal function in lean subjects after adjustment--assuming no changes in other independent variables 1 s.d. increase in DHEA-S was associated with 13%-s.d. decrease in creatinine clearance (P = 0.004). Testosterone decreased across tertiles of creatinine clearance only in the crude analysis of nonlean (BMI greater than median) subjects (P < 0.001). The adjusted regression analysis that assumed no changes in other independent variables showed that 1 s.d. increase in total testosterone was associated with 11%-s.d. decrease in creatinine clearance of nonlean men (P = 0.006). Factor analysis confirmed an inverse association of renal function with both sex steroids and a different pattern of their loadings on glomerular filtration-related factors in lean (DHEA-S) and nonlean (testosterone) subjects. CONCLUSIONS Our data may suggest that androgens are inversely associated with estimated renal function in apparently healthy men without history of cardiovascular disease.

Acyl-CoA type 5 gene polymorphism and inappropriate body mass occurrence related to waist circumference and insulin resistance index among the population living in southern Poland

WSTĘP : Zaburzenia przemian lipidów i związana z nimi otyłość to problem coraz częściej dotykający ludzi w krajach wysoko rozwiniętych. Syntetaza acylo-CoA typu 5 (ACSL5) jest ważnym enzymem metabolizmu lipidów, biorącym udział w aktywacji kwasów tłuszczowych. Prawidłowe funkcjonowanie tego enzymu zapewnia substraty zarówno dla lipogenezy, jak i oksydacji kwasów tłuszczowych, stąd określenie związku między polimorfizmem genu dla ACSL a kształtowaniem otyłości stanowi istotny problem badawczy. CEL P RACY : Celem pracy było wykazanie zależności między nieprawidłową masą ciała oraz wartością wskaźnika HOMA-IR (homeostasis model assessment) a występowaniem polimorfizmu genu syntetazy acylo-CoA izoformy 5. MAT ERIAŁ I M ETODY : Przebadano łącznie 506 pacjentów, u których za pomocą sond specyficznie wiążących się z DNA matrycy oznaczono polimorfizm ACSL5 rs2419621. WYNI KI : Za pomocą testu statystycznego Hardy’ego-Weinberga wykazano, że proporcje genotypów w populacji są zachowane. Wśród pacjentów stanowiących próbę badawczą wyróżniono 177 osób o prawidłowej masie ciała oraz 330 osób z nieprawidłową wartością indeksu BMI. WNIOS KI : Wykazano brak zmiennych różnic statystycznych w rozkładzie genotypów polimorfizmu genu syntetazy acylo-CoA izoformy 5. Wyniki przeprowadzonego badania nie pozwalają wykazać zależności między polimorfizmem genu dla ACSL5 a kształtowaniem otyłości.