Association of Bioavailable, Free, and Total Testosterone With Insulin Resistance

OBJECTIVE: Previous reports of an association between low testosterone levels and diabetes risk were often confounded by covariation of sex hormone-binding globulin (SHBG) and testosterone measurements. Measurements of bioavailable and free testosterone, more reliable indexes of biologically active testosterone, were examined for their associations with markers of insulin resistance and body fat measures in 221 middle-aged nondiabetic men. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS: Bioavailable and free testosterone were calculated from the concentrations of total testosterone, SHBG, and albumin, and they were not significantly correlated with SHBG (r = 0.07-0.1). In contrast, total testosterone correlated significantly with SHBG (r = 0.63). We evaluated the relationship between these measures of circulating testosterone and markers for insulin resistance (i.e., fasting insulin, C-peptide, and homeostasis model assessment for insulin resistance HOMA-IR) as well as total body fat (assessed by dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry DEXA) and abdominal fat distribution (assessed by single-slice computed tomography CT). RESULTS: Bioavailable, free, and total testosterone and SHBG all correlated significantly with fasting insulin (age-adjusted r = -0.15 P = 0.03, -0.14 P = 0.03, -0.32 P < 0.0001, and -0.38 P < 0.0001, respectively), fasting C-peptide (r = -0.18 P = 0.009 to -0.41 P < 0.0001), HOMA-IR (r = -0.15 P = 0.03 to - 0.39 P < 0.0001), and body fat measures (r = -0.17 P = 0.008 to -0.44 P < 0.0001). Only SHBG and total testosterone were significantly associated with fasting glucose (r = -0.20 P = 0.003 to -0.21 P = 0.002). In multivariate analysis, bioavailable or free testosterone was significantly and inversely associated with insulin, C-peptide, and HOMA-IR, but this was not independent of total body or abdominal fat. SHBG was a significant determinant of insulin, C-peptide, and HOMA-IR, independent of body fat. The associations between total testosterone and insulin resistance were confounded by SHBG. CONCLUSIONS: The inverse association between testosterone and insulin resistance, independent of SHBG, was mediated through body fat.