Relationship of androgens to body composition, energy and substrate metabolism and aerobic capacity in healthy, young women

ObjectiveTo evaluate the role of physiologic levels of androgens and their precursors in the regulation of body composition, energy and substrate metabolism and aerobic capacity in healthy, cycling, premenopausal women.ExperimentalWe evaluated 30 young (27 ± 1 year) premenopausal, non-obese (23 ± 0.5 kg/m2), normally-cycling women, without clinical or chemical evidence of hyperandrogenism or hyperinsulinemia, for parameters of total and regional body composition, glucose tolerance, aerobic capacity and resting energy expenditure and substrate oxidation. Serum was assayed for androgens and androgen precursors by techniques optimized to assess the low androgen levels in this population.ResultsHigher serum testosterone levels correlated with greater fat mass (r = 0.377; p = 0.04), but not abdominal adiposity or other metabolic/physiologic variables. Additionally, dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA) was negatively related to visceral fat content (r = −0.569; p = 0.02). Other serum androgens did not correlate with total or regional adiposity, skeletal muscle mass, aerobic capacity, glucose tolerance, or resting energy and substrate metabolism.ConclusionIn this group of non-obese, premenopausal women with no clinical or chemical evidence of hyperandrogenemia, serum testosterone levels were positively related with fat mass, but not with abdominal adiposity; whereas, DHEA was negatively related to visceral adiposity. Our data suggest that within the normal physiologic range, testosterone is a predictor of overall adiposity, but that this effect does not appear to be associated with concomitant alterations in resting energy or substrate metabolism that could predispose to weight gain.

► We evaluated androgens, body composition, and metabolism in healthy, cycling women.
► Testosterone levels correlated positively with fat mass.
► Testosterone levels did not correlate with abdominal adiposity or metabolic indices.
► The steroid hormone precursor DHEA correlated negatively with visceral adiposity.