Endocrine Abstracts

Introduction: Obese men and women still show their sex-specific fat accumulation. Not only does fat distribution differ between the sexes after puberty, but the dynamics of fat cell size and fat metabolism differ as well. While there is reliable evidence that pubertal sex steroids induce a sex-specific fat distribution with preferential abdominal/visceral fat accumulation in males and preferential gluteofemoral fat accumulation in females, later in life a number of paradoxes occur in the relationship between sex steroids and fat distribution. The difference between aromatizable and non-aromatizable androgens could explain this paradox.

Methods: In our study we will search for the relation between steroid hormones and antropometric parametres in group of 20 healthy men (mean age 33.5 years, mean BMI 23.6). In all individuals, we analyzed all steroids in delta 4 and delta 5 metabolic pathways and their polar conjugates, progesterone-reduced metabolites and their polar conjugates, 5α/β reduced C₋₁₉ metabolites including polar conjugates, 7α/β hydroxymetabolites of delta 5 steroids, 20α metabolites of C₂₁ steroids, LH, FSH and SHBG. We measured BMI, waist, hip and waist-hip ratio. Multivariate regression with reduction of dimensionality, bidirectional orthogonal projection to latent structures, O2PLS was used for statistic comparison. The local Ethics Committee approved the study, and all patients signed an informed consent form before taking part in the study.

Results: The hormonal levels and antropomeric data were compared. We found the most potent correlation between waist and DHEAS, androstanediol sulphate, isopregnalone sulphate, 5α-pregnan-3-β-20α-diol sulphate, androsterone sulphate, epiandrosterone sulphate and 5α-androstane-3β, 17-β-diol sulphate (P<0.05), The most confidential correlation we found between these steroids and hip circumference (P<0.01).

Conclusions: The final metabolites of sterods originated from adrenocortical zone could influence male type of fat distribution.

The study was supported by grant No. NS 9831-4 and 10215-3 of the IGA MZCR and GAUK.