AB58. Insight into male’s health from FAMHES cohort study in South China

Abstract: Fangchenggang Area Male Health Examination Survey (FAMHES) was designed to investigate the effects of environmental and genetic factors and their interaction with the development of age-related chronic diseases. It was a population-based study conducted among non-institutionalized Chinese men aging from 17 to 88 years old in Guangxi, China. A comprehensive demographic and health survey was conducted among a consecutive series of 4,303 men participating in the routine physical examination at the Medical Centre in Fangchenggang First People’s Hospital from September 2009 to December 2009. Using of the FAMHES cohort, we have performed a series of genome-wide association studies (GWAS) for more than 30 quantitative trait loci (QTL) including phenotypes which is related to the men’s health, such as PSA, male sex hormone. We found above 100 gene loci associated with the QTL phenotypes that reach GWAS significant levels and have published 14 papers including PLoS Genetics, Human Molecular Genetics and others.

Additionally, we also did the some cross section epidemiology studies in these subjects to understand the effects of some life-style, such as smoking, drinking alcohol, on the men’s health. Firstly, we examined the association between cigarette smoking and testosterone. We found out the smoking has a positive and independent effect on testosterone levels. In another study of association between cigarette smoking and erectile dysfunction (ED), we found the heavy smokers are more likely to have ED. We also studied the association between ED and testosterone. Moreover, we examined the association between ED and metabolic syndrome (MetS). We found out that abnormal fasting blood glucose was the most significantly independent factor of MetS for ED. When we examined the association between MetS and testosterone, we found out that testosterone was the independent risk factor for MetS. Collectively, the studies mentioned above were oriented with ED. As we can see, the lifestyle smoking and the co-exist disease status MetS is the potential marker for ED.

In the studies oriented with lower urinary tract symptom (LUTS), we found out the metabolic disorder is associated with some symptoms of LUTS, and the inflammatory marker hsCRP is another indicator for LUTS. In studies oriented with Chronic Prostatitis (CP), we find out the CPSI questionnaire is not associated with the severity of CP. The main symptom of CP is pain, which is associated with metabolic factors. The prevalence of type IV CP is also reported in our cohort. In another oriented disease Non-Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease (NAFLD), we found one of the sex hormones oestradiol may be its protective factor. Another important hormone osteocalcin is associated with NAFLD as well. Collectively, the studies mentioned above were mainly oriented with sex hormone, especially the testosterone. These studies have not only provided the baseline characteristics for the subjects so that we can set up a cohort to follow up but also paved the way to study the interaction between the various men’s diseases and metabolic diseases, such as diabetes, hypertension, metabolic syndromes. In this field, we have published 25 papers including Journal of andrology, Prostate, Urology, Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism, Clinical endocrinology and others.

Keywords: Men’s health; South China; quantitative trait loci (QTL)