High prevalence of hypogonadotropic hypogonadism in men referred for obesity treatment

Abstract

Background: Obesity can be associated with biochemical evidence of isolated hypogonadotropic hypogonadism (iHH) in men. Prevalence and severity of iHH in obese men are not exactly known.

Objective: To assess the prevalence of iHH in obese men. design and subjects: Cross-sectional study of 160 obese men, bMi >30 kg/m2, who applied for medical or surgical treatment of obesity in a general teaching hospital.

Main outcome measures: Total and calculated free testosterone (TT and fT) in relation to body mass index (bMi).

Results: Mean age of the study population was 43.3 ± 0.8 years (mean ± sEM), bMi ranged from 30.0 to 65.7 kg/m2. TT and fT levels were inversely related to bMi (-0.48, p