Health-related physical fitness and quality of life in men with congenital hypogonadotropic hypogonadism.

Congenital hypogonadotropic hypogonadism is a rare disorder characterised by impaired testosterone secretion since birth, and represents a valuable model for studying the effects of testosterone replacement therapy (TRT) in humans. This cross-sectional study aimed to investigate all health-related physical fitness (HRPF) components and quality of life in a series of eight men with hypogonadotropic hypogonadism under regular TRT. The study group was compared to a control group of 16 healthy subjects paired for age, body mass index and physical activity. Body composition, aerobic capacity, muscular strength and endurance, and joint flexibility were evaluated in two different 7-day interval time points, based on the pharmacokinetics of testosterone in the hypogonadal group. Quality of life was assessed by the WHOQOL-brief questionnaire. Both groups had similar performances in all HRPF components evaluated, independently of plasma testosterone levels (p > .05). Quality of life was also similar in the four domains analysed (p > .05). The results of this pilot study suggest that regular testosterone replacement was efficient in providing HRPF and quality of life in a series of congenitally hypogonadal men to levels like those observed in healthy men. In addition, acute fluctuations in plasma testosterone did not correlate with changes in muscle strength and endurance.

Health-related physical fitness in middle-aged men with and without metabolic syndrome.

AIM: Objective of the study was to compare health-related physical fitness (HRPF) between men with and without metabolic syndrome (MS) and to evaluate the risk of being unfit associated with MS. METHODS: The study included 79 middle-aged civil servant men (46.2 ± 8.4 years) who underwent a physical annual evaluation to access HRPF as follows: BMI; cardiorespiratory fitness by Ebbeling test (VO(2max)), flexibility by sit-and-reach test (SRT), muscular strength by handgrip test (HDT) and vertical jump test (VJT) and muscular endurance by push-up test (PUT). MS was defined by the ATP III (2009) criteria. Comparisons were performed with the Mann-Whitney test and univariate General Linear Model was used for age-adjusted analysis. Odds ratio (OR-95% CI) was calculated to evaluate the odds of the MS group to be unfit and the odds of having MS according to the HRPF levels. RESULTS: Nineteen volunteers (24.1%) with MS were identified. After age adjustment, VO(2max) and BMI were significantly different in the MS group than in the non-MS group: 39.7 vs. 44.8 mL.kg-1.min⁻¹ and 29.4 vs. 25.7 kg/m² (P<0.05) and PUT tended to be lower in men with MS (16 vs. 21 repetition; P=0.06). Blood pressure ≥ 130/85 mmHg was the most prevalent MS criterion, associated with lower VO(max) (40.3 vs. 45.6 mL.kg⁻¹.min⁻¹) and SRT (22.2 vs. 28 cm), and higher BMI (28.9 vs. 25.3 kg/m²) (P<0.05). The OR of being unfit for VO2max and BMI in the MS group were 6.5 (1.9-22.6) and 5.7 (1.2-26.8). The odds of having MS increased by 23% (3-45%) for each BMI unit increase, irrespectively to age. CONCLUSION: MS group showed lower VO(2max), PUT, higher BMI and a greater risk of being unfit compared to the non-MS one. The proportion of MS was 3.4-fold higher within those with lower VO(2max). Small reductions on BMI may produce significant decrease on MS prevalence.