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Background/objectives: Average testosterone concentrations in men have declined over the last few decades. The reasons for this are not fully known, but changes in dietary fat quality have been suggested to have a role. This study aimed to investigate the associations of different dietary fatty acids with serum androgen concentrations., Subjects/methods: A total of 2546 men with a mean age of 53 from the Kuopio Ischaemic Heart Disease Risk Factor Study were included in this cross-sectional study. Associations between dietary saturated (SFA), monounsaturated (MUFA), polyunsaturated (PUFA) and trans (TFA) fatty acids and concentrations of serum total and free testosterone and steroid hormone binding globulin (SHBG) were analyzed with analysis of covariance and linear regression analysis. Associations of isocaloric replacement of nutrients and androgen concentrations were analyzed with multivariate nutrient-density models., Results: After adjustment for age, examination year and energy intake, higher SFA intake was associated with higher serum total and free testosterone and SHBG concentrations, and higher PUFA intake with lower concentrations. However, the associations were attenuated and not statistically significant after further adjustments for potential confounders. MUFA and TFA intakes were not associated with androgen concentrations. In isocaloric substitution models, replacing dietary protein with SFA was associated with higher serum total testosterone and SHBG concentrations. After excluding men with history of CVD or diabetes (n = 1021), no statistically significant associations were found., Conclusions: Dietary fat quality was not independently associated with serum androgen concentrations in middle-aged men. However, replacing protein with SFA may be associated with higher serum androgen concentrations., (© 2023. The Author(s).)

Background/objectives: Epidemiological studies suggest that whole grain intake has inverse associations with low-grade inflammation, but findings regarding refined grains are inconclusive. Our objective was to investigate whether consumption of whole or refined grains is associated with serum high sensitivity CRP (hs-CRP)., Subjects/methods: The study included 756 generally healthy men and women aged 53-73 years from the Kuopio Ischaemic Heart Disease Risk Factory Study, examined in 1999-2001. Dietary intakes were assessed using 4-day food records. ANCOVA and linear regression were used for analyses., Results: The mean intake of whole and refined grains was 136 g/day (SD 80) and 84 g/day (SD 46), respectively. Higher whole grain intake was associated with lower hs-CRP concentration and higher refined grain intake with higher concentration after adjustment for lifestyle and dietary factors. Each 50 g/d higher whole grain intake was associated with 0.12 mg/L (95% Cl 0.02-0.21 mg/L) lower hs-CRP concentration and each 50 g/d higher refined grain intake with 0.23 mg/L (95% Cl 0.08-0.38) higher concentration. Adjustment for fibre from grains attenuated the associations especially with whole grains. There were no statistically significant interactions according to gender or BMI (P for interactions >0.065)., Conclusions: The results of this study suggest that higher intake of whole grains is associated with lower concentrations of hs-CRP and higher intake of refined grains is associated with higher concentrations. However, especially the association with whole grain intake was attenuated after adjusting for fibre intake from grains, suggesting that cereal fibre may partly explain the association., (© 2021. The Author(s).)