Evidence map›Paper›PMID 37900132›Full record

Observational studyFrontiers in endocrinology2023

Association of sex hormones and sex hormone-binding globulin with liver fat in men and women: an observational and Mendelian randomization study.

Xinting Cai, Barbara Thorand, Simon Hohenester, Cornelia Prehn, Alexander Cecil, Jerzy Adamski, Tanja Zeller, Andrea Dennis, Rajarshi Banerjee, Annette Peters and 2 more

Open access · goldAbstract readObservational Study
In one paragraph

Observational study in Frontiers in endocrinology, 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 7 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
7citing papers in PubMed
7.1field-weighted citation impact, top 2% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

7 citing papers in PubMed, 31 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Review
  2. Sex Hormones and Metabolic Dysfunction-Associated Steatotic Liver Disease.International journal of molecular sciences · 2025
    Review
  3. Article
  4. Observational
  5. Observational
  6. Article
  7. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

12 authors at 4 institutions in 4 countries.

Xinting CaiInstitute of Epidemiology, Helmholtz Zentrum München, German Research Center for Environmental Health, Neuherberg, Germany.
Barbara ThorandInstitute of Epidemiology, Helmholtz Zentrum München, German Research Center for Environmental Health, Neuherberg, Germany.
Simon HohenesterDepartment of Medicine II, University Hospital, Ludwig-Maximilians University of Munich, Munich, Germany.
Cornelia PrehnCore Facility Metabolomics and Proteomics, Helmholtz Zentrum München, German Research Center for Environmental Health, Neuherberg, Germany.
Alexander CecilCore Facility Metabolomics and Proteomics, Helmholtz Zentrum München, German Research Center for Environmental Health, Neuherberg, Germany.
Jerzy AdamskiInstitute of Experimental Genetics, Helmholtz Zentrum München, German Research Center for Environmental Health, Neuherberg, Germany.
Tanja ZellerUniversity Center of Cardiovascular Science, University Heart and Vascular Center Hamburg, Hamburg, Germany.
Andrea DennisPerspectum, Oxford, United Kingdom.
Rajarshi BanerjeePerspectum, Oxford, United Kingdom.
Annette PetersInstitute of Epidemiology, Helmholtz Zentrum München, German Research Center for Environmental Health, Neuherberg, Germany.
Hanieh YaghootkarCollege of Health and Science, University of Lincoln, Joseph Banks Laboratories, Green Lane, Lincoln, Lincolnshire, United Kingdom.
Jana NanoInstitute of Epidemiology, Helmholtz Zentrum München, German Research Center for Environmental Health, Neuherberg, Germany.
Helmholtz Zentrum München · DELudwig-Maximilians-Universität München · DEGerman Centre for Cardiovascular Research · DEUniversity of Lincoln · GB

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Background: Sex hormones and sex hormone-binding globulin (SHBG) may play a role in fatty liver development. We sought to examine the association of various endogenous sex hormones, including testosterone (T), and SHBG with liver fat using complementary observational and Mendelian randomization (MR) analyses. Methods: The observational analysis included a total of 2,239 participants (mean age 60 years; 35% postmenopausal women) from the population-based KORA study (average follow-up time: 6.5 years). We conducted linear regression analysis to investigate the sex-specific associations of sex hormones and SHBG with liver fat, estimated by fatty liver index (FLI). For MR analyses, we selected genetic variants associated with sex hormones and SHBG and extracted their associations with magnetic resonance imaging measured liver fat from the largest up to date European genome-wide associations studies. Results: In the observational analysis, T, dihydrotestosterone (DHT), progesterone and 17α-hydroxyprogesterone (17-OHP) were inversely associated with FLI in men, with beta estimates ranging from -4.23 to -2.30 [p-value <0.001 to 0.003]. Whereas in women, a positive association of free T with FLI (β = 4.17, 95%CI: 1.35, 6.98) was observed. SHBG was inversely associated with FLI across sexes [men: -3.45 (-5.13, -1.78); women: -9.23 (-12.19, -6.28)]. No causal association was found between genetically determined sex hormones and liver fat, but higher genetically determined SHBG was associated with lower liver fat in women (β = -0.36, 95% CI: -0.61, -0.12). Conclusion: Our results provide suggestive evidence for a causal association between SHBG and liver fat in women, implicating the protective role of SHBG against liver fat accumulation.

Indexed as

Fatty LiverSex Hormone-Binding GlobulinDihydrotestosteroneFemaleHumansMaleMendelian Randomization AnalysisMiddle AgedDihydrotestosteroneSex Hormone-Binding GlobulinEuropean cohortfatty liver indexliver fatMendelian randomizationsex hormone-binding globulinsex hormones

Identifiers

PMID37900132
PMCPMC10611498
OpenAlexW4387602414

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.