EFFECT OF AGING AND OBESITY RELATED TESTOSTERONE DECLINE ON SERUM ADIPONECTIN LEVELS OF HEALTHY MALES

Background: Men experience testosterone decline with both aging obesity which leads to enhanced adiponectin levels. Methods: It was a cross-sectional study that consisted of 80 healthy males who were equally divided into younger (20–40 years) and elder (41–60 years) categories, each was further divided equally into non-obese and obese groups. Serum testosterone and adiponectin levels were analyzed via Enzyme Linked Immunosorbent Assay (ELISA). Results: Testosterone levels of younger non-obese/obese males were significantly higher as compared to elder non-obese/obese males (p=0.00 and p=0.00) while testosterone levels of younger non obese participants were significantly higher than their obese counterparts (p=0.003). Adiponectin levels, however, of younger non obese participants were significantly lower than their elder non-obese and younger obese counterparts (p=0.001 and p=0.008 respectively). Moreover, elder non-obese and obese participants showed significant negative correlation between testosterone and adiponectin levels [(p=0.00) and (p=0.01)]. Also, younger and elder (regardless of obesity) and non-obese/obese participants (regardless of age) showed a significant negative correlation between serum testosterone and serum adiponectin levels [(p=0.00), (p=0.00), (p=0.00) and (p=0.00) respectively]. Conclusion: Testosterone levels decline with both aging and obesity, in otherwise healthy males, which makes adiponectin levels to rise. This in turn, though intricate physiological pathways, further deranges testosterone levels and thus puts aging and obese men at an increased risk of endo-metabolic disorders. Pak J Physiol 2024;20(4):3?7, DOI: https://doi.org/10.69656/pjp.v20i4.1689