Dietary patterns in relation to testosterone levels and severity of impaired kidney function among middle-aged and elderly men in Taiwan: a cross-sectional study

BACKGROUND: Chronic Kidney Disease (CKD), characterized by an impaired kidney function, is associated with low testosterone levels. This study investigated the association between dietary patterns, testosterone levels, and severity of impaired kidney function among middle-aged and elderly men. METHODS: This cross-sectional study used the database from a private health-screening institute in Taiwan between 2008 and 2010. Men aged 40 years old and older (n = 21,376) with estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) < 90 mL/min/1.73 m(2) and proteinuria were selected. Among 21,376 men, 256 men had available measurements of testosterone levels. Dietary assessment was conducted using a food frequency questionnaire and three dietary patterns (fried-processed, vege-seafood, and dairy-grain dietary patterns) were identified using principal component analysis. RESULTS: Men in the lower tertiles (T1 and T2) of eGFR had significantly decreased testosterone levels by 0.8 (95% CI: − 1.40, − 0.20) and 0.9 nmol/L (95% CI: − 1.43, − 0.33). Furthermore, serum triglycerides (TG) levels were inversely associated with testosterone levels (β = − 0.51, 95% CI: − 0.77, − 0.24). Men in the higher tertile of fried-processed dietary pattern scores were associated with decreased testosterone levels by 0.8 nmol/L (95% CI: − 1.40, − 0.16), reduced testosterone-to-TG (T/TG) ratio by 1.8 units (95% CI: − 2.99, − 0.53), and increased risk of moderate/severe impaired kidney function (eGFR < 60 mL/min/1.73 m(2)) and proteinuria severity by 1.35 (95% CI: 1.15, 1.58) and 1.18 (95% CI: 1.02, 1.37) times respectively. In contrast, the vege-seafood dietary pattern was negatively associated with severity of impaired kidney function and proteinuria after multivariable adjustment, but had no association with testosterone levels and T/TG ratio. CONCLUSIONS: The fried-processed dietary pattern is negatively associated with testosterone levels but positively associated with the severity of impaired kidney function. However, the vege-seafood and dairy-grain dietary patterns appear to have beneficial effects. ELECTRONIC SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIAL: The online version of this article (10.1186/s12937-019-0467-x) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.