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Regulating testosterone in elderly men yielded weight loss, improved BP
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By raising serum testosterone to normal levels, progressive weight loss, waist circumference and improved metabolic profile were evident among patients in a cumulative prospective study, according to data presented at the 19th European Congress on Obesity Meeting in Lyon, France.
“Raising serum testosterone to normal reduced body weight, waist circumference, and blood pressure, and improved metabolic profiles. These improvements were progressive over the full 5 years of the study,” the researchers said.
With an understanding that obesity is associated with reduced testosterone, and low testosterone induces weight gain, Farid Saad, MD, of Medical Affairs Men’s Health Care at Bayer Pharma AG in Berlin, and colleagues analyzed the effects of normalizing serum testosterone in mainly elderly (aged 38 to 83 years) hypogonadal men (n=251).
For at least 2 years, 214 men were studied, and 115 were studied for at least 5 years, with a mean age of 61 years.
The patients’ baseline testosterone levels were 0.14 ng/mL to 3.5 ng/mL (with a cutoff for testosterone treatment of ≤3.5 ng/mL), and they were assigned parenteral testosterone undecanoate 1,000 mg during the course of the study. Injections were given at baseline, after 6 weeks and every 12 weeks thereafter.
Of the 115 men studied for 5 years, 16 kg was the average weight loss, and mean weight of the group decreased from 106 kg to 90 kg. Additionally, men lost an average of 3.5 inches of their waist circumference (42 inches to 38.5 inches), and the average BMI decreased from 34 to 29, dramatically decreasing the average BMI of the patients from obese (>30) to overweight (25-30).
The results of the study improved the overall metabolic profile, with LDL cholesterol lowered from 163 mg/dL to 109 mg/dL, triglycerides from 276 mg/dL to 189 mg/dL, and average blood glucose measurements from 103 mg/dL to 94 mg/dL. Systolic BP decreased from 153 mm Hg to 137 mm Hg and diastolic BP from 93 mm Hg to 79 mm Hg.
An increase in energy and motivation were also apparent among patients participating in the study.
For more information:
- Saad F. #OS2.3. Presented at: the 19th European Congress on Obesity Meeting; May 9-12, 2012; Lyon, France.
Disclosure: Dr. Saad is an employee of Bayer Pharmaceuticals. Dr. Ahmad Haider received travel grants from Bayer Pharmaceuticals and Takeda Pharmaceuticals. Dr. Louis Gooren received speakers’ fees and travel grants from Bayer Pharmaceuticals and Organon.