The prevalence of low testosterone increases with rising body mass index (BMI) in older men with lower urinary tract symptoms associated with benign prostatic hyperplasia (LUTS/BPH), according to a new study.
Stephen A. Kaplan, MD, of Weill Cornell Medical College in New York, and colleagues studied 1,896 men with LUTS/BPH enrolled in the Medical Therapy of Prostatic Symptoms (MTOPS) study and who had total testosterone levels measured at baseline. Low testosterone (LT) was defined as a level below 300 ng/dL.
The overall prevalence of LT was 25.7%. The prevalence was 14.7% among normal-weight men (BMI less than 25 kg/m2) and 24.2% and 39.3% among overweight men (BMI 25 or higher but less than 30) and obese men (BMI of 30 or higher), Dr. Kaplan’s group reported online ahead of print in The Aging Male.
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“Our findings suggest a high prevalence of LT in obese men with LUTS/BPH,” the authors concluded. “Physicians should be alert to the possibility of symptoms of hypogonadism in this population.”
