Testosterone in males with COVID-19: A 7-month cohort study.
Andrology
; 10(1): 34-41, 2022 01.
Article
in English
| MEDLINE | ID: covidwho-1379554
ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND:
Circulating testosterone levels have been found to be reduced in men with severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 infection, COVID-19, with lower levels being associated with more severe clinical outcomes.OBJECTIVES:
We aimed to assess total testosterone levels and the prevalence of total testosterone still suggesting for hypogonadism at 7-month follow-up in a cohort of 121 men who recovered from laboratory-confirmed COVID-19. MATERIALS ANDMETHODS:
Demographic, clinical, and hormonal values were collected for all patients. Hypogonadism was defined as total testosterone ≤9.2 nmol/L. The Charlson Comorbidity Index was used to score health-significant comorbidities. Descriptive statistics and multivariable linear and logistic regression models tested the association between clinical and laboratory variables and total testosterone levels at follow-up assessment.RESULTS:
Circulating total testosterone levels increased at 7-month follow-up compared to hospital admittance (p < 0.0001), while luteinizing hormone and 17ß-estradiol levels significantly decreased (all p ≤ 0.02). Overall, total testosterone levels increased in 106 (87.6%) patients, but further decreased in 12 (9.9%) patients at follow-up, where a total testosterone level suggestive for hypogonadism was still observed in 66 (55%) patients. Baseline Charlson Comorbidity Index score (OR 0.36; p = 0.03 [0.14, 0.89]) was independently associated with total testosterone levels at 7-month follow-up, after adjusting for age, BMI, and IL-6 at hospital admittance.CONCLUSIONS:
Although total testosterone levels increased over time after COVID-19, more than 50% of men who recovered from the disease still had circulating testosterone levels suggestive for a condition of hypogonadism at 7-month follow-up. In as many as 10% of cases, testosterone levels even further decreased. Of clinical relevance, the higher the burden of comorbid conditions at presentation, the lower the probability of testosterone levels recovery over time.Keywords
Full text:
Available
Collection:
International databases
Database:
MEDLINE
Main subject:
Testosterone
/
COVID-19
Type of study:
Cohort study
/
Observational study
/
Prognostic study
Limits:
Aged
/
Humans
/
Male
/
Middle aged
Language:
English
Journal:
Andrology
Year:
2022
Document Type:
Article
Affiliation country:
Andr.13097
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