BACKGROUND: Treatment of obesity with diet and exercise may have short-term success but longer-term maintenance of weight loss is less successful. Obesity is associated with a reduction of serum testosterone, and, vice versa, a reduction in serum testosterone is associated with obesity and features of the metabolic syndrome.
OBJECTIVE: To investigate whether restoring serum testosterone to normal in hypo-gonadal obese men is beneficial with regard to weight loss and improvement of the metabolic syndrome.
METHODS: A prospective registry accumulated to 181 men over five years (mean serum testosterone 10.06±1.3nmol/L (N >12.1), body mass index (BMI) ≥30kg/m2. Of these men, 72 had diabetes mellitus type 2. All received parenteral testosterone undecanoate 1000mg/12 weeks for up to five years.
RESULTS: Waist circumference (cm) decreased from 111.2±7.54 to 100.46±7.1, weight (kg) from 114.71±11.59 to 93.2±8.49, BMI (kg/m2) from 36.72±3.72 to 30.2±2.59 (all variables statistically significant vs. baseline (p< 0.0001) and each year compared to the previous year (p< 0.0001)). In the 72 diabetic men, waist circumference (cm) decreased from 112.93±7.16 to 101.48±7.24, weight (kg) from 116.94±11.62 to 94.42±9.42, BMI (kg/m(2)) from 37.71±3.5 to 30.95±2.69 (all variables statistically significant vs. baseline (p< 0.0001) and each year compared to the previous year (p< 0.0001)). In all men serum glucose, HbA1c, lipid profiles and blood pressure improved significantly. Testosterone treatment as assessed by hemoglobin, hematocrit, serum prostate specific antigen (PSA) and occurrence of prostate cancer was acceptably safe.
CONCLUSIONS: Normalizing serum testosterone in obese hypogonadal men, also in those with diabetes type 2, improved their metabolic state.
Written by:
Haider A, Saad F, Doros G, Gooren L. Are you the author?
Private Urology Practice, Bremerhaven, Germany; Bayer Pharma, Global Medical Affairs Andrology, Berlin, Germany; Gulf Medical University School of Medicine, Ajman, United Arab Emirates; Department of Biostatistics, Boston University School of Public Health, Boston, MA, USA; Emeritus VU Medical Center, Amsterdam, The Netherlands; Androconsult, Chiang Mai, Thailand.
Reference: Obes Res Clin Pract. 2014 Jul-Aug;8(4):e339-49.
doi: 10.1016/j.orcp.2013.10.005
PubMed Abstract
PMID: 25091355
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