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Impaired quality of life and sexual function in overweight and obese men: the European Male Ageing Study

Thang S Han, Abdelouahid Tajar, Terence W O'Neill, Min Jiang, György Bartfai, Steven Boonen, Felipe Casanueva, Joseph D Finn, Gianni Forti, Aleksander Giwercman, Ilpo T Huhtaniemi, Krzysztof Kula, Neil Pendleton, Margus Punab, Alan J Silman, Dirk Vanderschueren, Michael E J Lean, Frederick C W Wu, and the EMAS group

Background

Few published data link overweight and obesity with measures of quality of life (QoL) including sexual health in men.

Objective

To assess the association of overweight/obesity with impairment of physical and psychological QoL and sexual functions in men.

Design and setting

Cross-sectional, multicentre survey of 3369 community-dwelling men aged 40–79 (mean±s.d., 60±11) years randomly selected from eight European centres.

Outcomes

Adiposity was assessed by body mass index (BMI) and waist circumference (WC), QoL and functional impairments by physical and psychological function domains of the Short Form-36 questionnaire, Beck's Depression Inventory and the European Male Ageing Study sexual function questionnaire.

Results

Complete data on sexual activities and erectile function were available in 2734 (92%) and 3193 (95%) of the participants respectively. From the population studied, 814 men were obese (BMI ≥30 kg/m2) and 1171 had WC ≥102 cm, 25% of all men were unable to do vigorous activity and 2–13% reported depressive symptoms. Symptoms of sexual dysfunction ranged between 22% (low sexual desire) and 40% (infrequent morning erections) of the participants. Among obese men with both BMI ≥30 kg/m2 and WC ≥102 cm, at least one symptom of impaired physical, psychological and sexual function was reported by 41, 43 and 73% of the participants respectively. Compared with the reference group of non-obese men (BMI <30 kg/m2 and WC <102 cm), men with BMI ≥30 kg/m2 and WC ≥102 cm more frequently reported at least one symptom of impaired physical function (odds ratio (OR)=2.67; confidence interval (CI): 2.07–3.45, P<0.001), impaired psychological function (OR=1.48; CI: 1.14–1.90, P<0.01) and impaired sexual function (OR=1.45; CI: 1.14–1.85, P<0.01). These functional impairments were also more prevalent in men who had WC ≥102 cm even with BMI <30 kg/m2, but those with BMI ≥30 kg/m2 and WC <102 cm generally did not suffer from increased impaired physical or sexual health. Men with high BMI and WC were at even greater likelihood of having a composite of two or more or three or more symptoms compared with those with normal BMI and WC.

Conclusions

Men with high WC, including those who are ‘non-obese’ with BMI <30 kg/m2, have poor QoL with symptoms of impaired physical, psychological and sexual functions. Health promotion to improve QoL should focus on prevention of obesity and central fat accumulation.

Free access

Comparison of serum testosterone and estradiol measurements in 3174 European men using platform immunoassay and mass spectrometry; relevance for the diagnostics in aging men

Ilpo T Huhtaniemi, Abdelouahid Tajar, David M Lee, Terence W O'Neill, Joseph D Finn, György Bartfai, Steven Boonen, Felipe F Casanueva, Aleksander Giwercman, Thang S Han, Krzysztof Kula, Fernand Labrie, Michael E J Lean, Neil Pendleton, Margus Punab, Alan J Silman, Dirk Vanderschueren, Gianni Forti, Frederick C W Wu, and the EMAS Group

Background

The limitations of serum testosterone and estradiol (E2) measurements using non-extraction platform immunoassays (IAs) are widely recognized. Switching to more specific mass spectrometry (MS)-based methods has been advocated, but directly comparative data on the two methods are scarce.

Methods

We compared serum testosterone and E2 measurements in a large sample of middle-aged/elderly men using a common platform IA and a gas chromatography (GC)–MS method, in order to assess their limitations and advantages, and to diagnose male hypogonadism. Of subjects from the European Male Aging Study (n=3174; age 40–79 years), peripheral serum testosterone and E2 were analyzed using established commercial platform IAs (Roche Diagnostics E170) and in-house GC–MS methods.

Results

Over a broad concentration range, serum testosterone concentration measured by IA and MS showed high correlation (R=0.93, P<0.001), which was less robust in the hypogonadal range (<11 nmol/l; R=0.72, P<0.001). The IA/MS correlation was weaker in E2 measurements (R=0.32, P<0.001, at E2 <40.8 pmol/l, and R=0.74, P<0.001, at E2 >40.8 pmol/l). Using MS as the comparator method, IA ascertained low testosterone compatible with hypogonadism (<11 nmol/l), with 75% sensitivity and 96.3% specificity. The same parameters with IA for the detection of low E2 (<40.7 pmol/l) were 13.3 and 99.3%, and for high E2 (>120 pmol/l) 88.4 and 88.6%.

Conclusion

A validated platform IA is sufficient to detect subnormal testosterone concentrations in the diagnosis of male hypogonadism. The IA used for E2 measurements showed poor correlation with MS and may only be suitable for the detection of high E2 in men.

Free access

Endogenous hormones, androgen receptor CAG repeat length and fluid cognition in middle-aged and older men: results from the European Male Ageing Study

David M Lee, Aslan Ulubaev, Abdelouahid Tajar, Stephen R Pye, Neil Pendleton, Nitin Purandare, Terence W O'Neill, Daryl B O'Connor, Fernand Labrie, Hazel Platt, Debbie Payne, Gyorgy Bartfai, Steven Boonen, Felipe F Casanueva, Joseph D Finn, Gianni Forti, Aleksander Giwercman, Thang S Han, Ilpo T Huhtaniemi, Krzysztof Kula, Michael E J Lean, Margus Punab, Alan J Silman, Dirk Vanderschueren, Frederick C W Wu, and the EMAS study group

Objective

Data remain divergent regarding the activational effects of endogenous hormones on adult cognitive function. We examined the association between cognition, hormones and androgen receptor (AR) CAG repeat length in a large cohort of men.

Design

Community-based, cross-sectional study of 3369 men aged 40–79 years.

Methods

Cognition tests were the Rey-Osterrieth Complex Figure, Camden Topographical Recognition Memory and Digit-Symbol Substitution. A fluid cognition (FC) z-score was computed from the individual tests. Testosterone, oestradiol (OE2) and 5α-dihydrotestosterone were measured by gas chromatography–mass spectrometry; DHEAS, LH, FSH and sex hormone-binding globulin (SHBG) by electrochemiluminescence. Free testosterone and OE2 were calculated from total hormone, SHBG and albumin. CAG repeat lengths were assayed by PCR genotyping.

Results

Total testosterone and free testosterone were associated with higher FC z-scores, LH and FSH with lower FC z-scores in age-adjusted linear regressions. After adjusting for health, lifestyle and centre, a modest association was only observed between DHEAS and a lower FC z-score (β=−0.011, P=0.02), although this was driven by subjects with DHEAS levels >10 μmol/l. Locally weighted plots revealed no threshold effects between hormones and FC. There was no association between CAG repeat length and FC z-score after adjustment for age and centre (β=−0.007, P=0.06), nor any interaction effect between CAG repeat length and hormones.

Conclusion

Our results suggest that endogenous hormones are not associated with a vision-based measure of FC among healthy, community-dwelling men. Further studies are warranted to determine whether ‘high’ DHEAS levels are associated with poorer performance on a broader range of neuropsychological tests.