Insulin resistance and testosterone level in Indonesian young adult males

Introduction. Central obesity is characterized by the accumulation of abdominal fat which may lead to several diseases including insulin resistance. The prevalence of central obesity is higherin male and the incidence in young adult males is increased. Central obesity is also related to low testosterone levels. The research aimed to assess the relationship between the testosterone levels and insulin resistance of young adult males with central obesity.
Methods. This was a cross-sectional study, the subjects were young adult males of 18 to 25 years old. The central obesity consisted of 50 samples and non-central obesity comprised 70 samples. The examination of testosterone and insulin was performed by the ECLIA method, glucose used the enzymatic method, the insulin resistance was calculated by using the HOMA-IR index.
Results. The mean of the testosterone level in central obesity was lower than non-central obesity (5.24 + 1.17 vs 7.18 + 1.54 ng/mL, p < 0.001). HOMA-IR index in central obesity was higher than non-central obesity (4.29 + 2.23 vs 2.46 + 1.72, p < 0.001). Testosterone levels had negative correlation with HOMA-IR (r = –0.470, p < 0.001). There was significant difference in HOMA-IR among the quartiles of testosterone levels.
Conclusion. There is negative correlation between testosterone level with HOMA-IR, the
lower the testosterone level the higher the insulin resistance in young adult males.