Older age and low testosterone levels are independently associated with kidney stone prevalence in men: results from a large cross-sectional study

We aimed to evaluate the relationship between serum testosterone levels and kidney stone prevalence in men. We examined cross-sectional data from 3234 men who participated in a health examination (2010-2020). A full metabolic work-up, including serum testosterone levels, was performed. Combined ultrasonography with KUB radiography was used for stone detection. The participants' median age and testosterone concentration were 53.0 years and 4.7 ng/mL, respectively. A total of 178 men had kidney stones. A cutoff value for determining the presence of kidney stones was a testosterone concentration <3.33 ng/mL ng/mL. After adjusting for confounders, only age and a testosterone concentration <3.33 ng/mL were significantly related to the presence of kidney stones. However, body mass index, blood pressure, triglycerides, low-density lipoprotein cholesterol, high-density lipoprotein cholesterol, creatinine, blood urea nitrogen, HbA1c, uric acid, hs-CRP, calcium, aspartate transaminase, alanine aminotransferase, and albumin were not significantly and independently related to kidney stones. The odds ratios (95% confidence intervals) for kidney stones according to age and testosterone concentration <3.33 ng/mL were 1.029 (1.010-1.04) and 1.655 (1.071-2.556), respectively. Our study revealed that the prevalence of kidney stones significantly and independently increased when the serum testosterone was less than 3.33 ng/mL in men.