Diabetes UK has funded a study which has revealed that low levels of testosterone in men could increase their risk of developing type 2 diabetes. Researchers from the University of Edinburgh found that low testosterone levels are linked to a resistance to insulin – a hormone that controls blood glucose levels.
Testosterone, which is present throughout the body, acts on fat cells through molecules known as androgen receptors. These receptors enable testosterone to activate genes known to be linked to obesity and diabetes. Obesity is a known risk factor for type 2 diabetes. However, the researchers stated that the study showed that low testosterone is a risk factor irrespective of body weight. The research showed that mice with impaired testosterone function were more likely to be insulin resistant than mice in which testosterone functioned normally. These findings could help explain why older men are more at risk of developing type 2 diabetes, because testosterone levels fall in men as they age. The Edinburgh team says that its findings could lead to the development of new treatments that regulate production of RBP4 and reduce the risk of type 2 diabetes in men with lower levels of testosterone. The next phase of the research is to study people with type 2 diabetes to see if their levels of testosterone correlate with levels of RBP4.
