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Association of Prudent, Western, and Alternate Healthy Eating Index (AHEI-2010) dietary patterns with serum testosterone and sex hormone binding globulin levels in men

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Abstract

Purpose

The association of dietary patterns with testosterone (T) and sex hormone binding globulin (SHBG) levels remains unclear. We investigated the associations of dietary patterns with T and SHBG levels to determine whether these associations vary by obesity status.

Methods

A cross-sectional analysis was conducted in 1376 middle-aged (≥ 40 years old) men of the Health Professionals Follow-up Study. Prudent (rich in whole grains and dietary fiber) and Western (rich in red meat and refined grains) diet scores were identified using principal component analysis. The Alternate Healthy Eating Index 2010 (AHEI-2010) score, a measure of overall diet quality, was defined based on foods and nutrients predictive of chronic disease risk.

Results

We identified a weak inverse association between AHEI-2010 and T levels (Ptrend = 0.07), but no associations with other dietary patterns. Null associations were observed between diet scores and SHBG. Obesity status appeared to modify the associations for the Prudent diet and AHEI-2010 with both T and SHBG (Pinteraction ≤ 0.05). T levels were lower (Q1 vs. Q4, 4.23 vs. 3.38) and SHBG higher (Q1 vs. Q4, 48.6 vs. 64.3) with adherence to a more prudent diet among obese men (Ptrends ≤ 0.05).

Conclusion

We observed a weak inverse association between AHEI-2010 and T levels. Null associations were identified for SHBG. Obesity status seemed to modulate associations of T and SHBG levels with diet scores, especially the AHEI-2010 and prudent diets. However, this research question warrants further investigation in prospective studies.

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Availability of data and material

All data generated or analyzed during this study are included in this published article (and its supplementary information files). For further data inquiries, please contact the senior author of this manuscript (Dr. Edward Giovannucci).

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Funding

David S. Lopez was supported by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and National Institute on Aging, Grant #: P30 AG059301. This was work was also supported by the NIH Grants # UM1 CA167552 and R01 HL35464.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Deparment of Preventive Medicine and Population Health, University of Texas Medical Branch, Galveston, TX, USA

    David S. Lopez & Jacques Baillargeon

  2. Department of Preventive Medicine and Population Health, UTMB Health School of Medicine, 301 University Blvd., Galveston, TX, 77555-1153, USA

    David S. Lopez

  3. Departments of Nutrition and Epidemiology, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, MA, USA

    Lydia Liu, Stephanie A. Smith-Warner & Edward Giovannucci

  4. Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, School of Public Health, Imperial College London, London, UK

    Konstantinos K. Tsilidis

  5. Department of Hygiene and Epidemiology, University of Ioannina School of Medicine, Ioannina, Greece

    Konstantinos K. Tsilidis

  6. Department of Epidemiology, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX, 77030, USA

    Carrie Daniel

  7. Department of Chronic Disease Epidemiology, Epidemiology, Biostatistics and Prevention Institute (EBPI), University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland

    Sabine Rohrmann

  8. Department of Epidemiology, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, MD, USA

    Elizabeth A. Platz

  9. Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center at Johns Hopkins, Baltimore, MD, USA

    Elizabeth A. Platz

  10. Department of Urology and the James Buchanan Brady Urological Institute, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA

    Elizabeth A. Platz

  11. Channing Division of Network Medicine, Department of Medicine, Brigham and Women’s Hospital- Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA

    Edward Giovannucci

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  1. David S. Lopez
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Contributions

DSL and EG contributed to the study design, interpretation of the data, and writing and critical discussion of the manuscript draft. LL contributed to the statistical analysis of the study. All the other authors contributed to the interpretation, discussion, and editing of the manuscript draft.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to David S. Lopez.

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Ethics approval

The protocols for the conduct of the Health Professionals Follow-Up Study (HPFS) were approved by the Institutional Review Board of the Harvard School of Public Health. Informed consent was obtained from all participants.

Informed consent

We conducted a secondary data analysis using data from HPFS. HPFS obtained informed consents from participants that also included consent for publication.

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The authors declare no competing interests.

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Lopez, D.S., Liu, L., Smith-Warner, S.A. et al. Association of Prudent, Western, and Alternate Healthy Eating Index (AHEI-2010) dietary patterns with serum testosterone and sex hormone binding globulin levels in men. Hormones 21, 113–125 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s42000-021-00345-8

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