Hypogonadism in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease: relationship with airflow limitation, muscle weakness and systemic inflammation

Peer review under responsibility of Alexandria University Faculty of Medicine.

Available online 24 February 2015

Figures & data

Table 1 Characteristics and pulmonary function tests of the studied groups.

	COPD	Controls	P value
Age	55.75 ± 4.03	53.24 ± 3.3	NS
Smoking status, n (%)
Current smoker	29(58)	15(50)
Ex-smoker	19(38)	11(37)
Never smoker	2(4)	4(13)	NS
BMI (kg/m^2)	24.87 ± 7.3	21.57 ± 2.6	NS
Hb level (g%)	(14.0 ± 0.7)	15.0 ± 0.3)	NS
COPD level of severity, n (%)
Mild	2(4)
Moderate	10(20)
Severe	32(64)
Very severe	6(12)	–	–
FEV1 (L)	1.2 ± 0.5	–	–
FEV1 (%)	36.4 ± 13.24	–	–
FEV1/FVC	56 ± 20.6	–	–

Table 2 Hormonal profile of the studied groups.

	COPD	Controls	P value
Total testosterone, ng/ml	4.5 ± 1.3	7.1 ± 2.3	0.004^⁎
Free testosterone, pg/ml	48.2 ± 10.2	59.6 ± 11.4	0.015^⁎
Hypogonadism, n (%)	30 (60)	5 (17)	0.03^⁎
SHBG, nmol/l	74.9 ± 9.3	57.4 ± 34.6	0.003^⁎
E2 pg/ml	40.8 ± 6.5	33.7 ± 10.4	0.057
E2/T	9.5 ± 2.4	5 ± 1.5	<0.001^⁎

⁎ Statistically significant at p < 0.05.

Table 3 Inflammatory markers, quadriceps muscle force and six minute walk test (6MWT) in the studied groups.

	COPD	Controls	P value
Hs-CRP, mg//l	10.7 ± 3.4	2.3 ± 1.1	<0.001^⁎
IL-6, ng/ml	10.7 ± 1.9	2.5 ± 0.85	<0.001^⁎
1RM, kg	8.3 ± 5.1	29.5 ± 4.8	<0.001^⁎
6 MWT, m	246.1 ± 148.6	571 ± 90	0.003^⁎
Abnormal rest potentials n (%)	13 (26)	None	–
Myopathic MUAPs n (%)	25 (50)	None	–

⁎ Statistically significant at p < 0.05.