Correlation of plasma kisspeptin with total testosterone levels in smokeless tobacco and smoking tobacco users in a healthy cohort: a cross-sectional study
Abstract
Human infertility is a worldwide health issue and is the inability to conceive following twelve months of unprotected sexual intercourse. Consistent studies reiterated tobacco abuse to be an important risk factor which adversely effects male fertility. This study aims to determine the correlation of kisspeptin and total testosterone levels in smokeless tobacco, smoking tobacco users and healthy controls. A total of 180 subjects were selected using random sampling technique. Non-fasting blood samples (5 ml) were drawn, and ELISA technique was used for the evaluation of plasma levels of kisspeptin and total testosterone. Total testosterone was found to be significantly high in smokers and smokeless tobacco users, while the level of kisspeptin was found to be significantly high in smokeless tobacco users only as compared to control group. Furthermore, the level of cholesterol was found to be significantly low, whereas HDL and triglycerides were found to be significantly high in smokeless tobacco users relative to control subjects. Findings of this study suggest that tobacco use has impact on HPG axis by affecting kisspeptin level. The increase in kisspeptin level can affect hypothalamic function leading to pituitary and gonadal dysfunction along with impairment of reproduction. The finding that smokeless tobacco significantly raises kisspeptin strengthens the idea that smokeless tobacco use has more potent effects centrally compared to smoking.
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Men using smokeless tobacco have higher testosterone levels compared to men with no use.
“As seen for conventional cigarette smoking men, it has been observed that men using smokeless tobacco have higher testosterone levels compared to men with no use (Shah et al., 2019).”
From Use of e-cigarettes associated with lower sperm counts in a cross-sectional study of young men from the general population (2020) · cites this paper as Shah et al., 2019
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Impact of Smokeless Tobacco on Semen Quality: A Systematic Review and Meta‐Analysis
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- Authors
- Shah, S. S., Shah, M., Habib, S. H., Shah, F. A., & Malik, M. O.
- Affiliations
- Khyber Medical University (PK)
- Riphah International University (PK)
- Corresponding author
- Shah, Mohsin
- Venue
- Andrologia
- Publisher
- Wiley
- Published
- 2019-09-09
- Volume
- 51
- Issue
- 10
- Pages
- e13409-e13409
- ISSN
- 0303-4569 (ISSN-L)
- 1439-0272
- OpenAlex
- W2973161896
- Cited by
- 9
- References
- 7
- Citations by year
- 2026: 2 · 2025: 1 · 2024: 1 · 2023: 2 · 2022: 1 · 2021: 1 · 2020: 1
- FWCI
- 0.72
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Licence
- Locations
- Andrologia (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Topics
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Reproductive Medicine › Hypothalamic control of reproductive hormones
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Reproductive Medicine › Sperm and Testicular Function
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Endocrinology, Diabetes and Metabolism › Hormonal and reproductive studies
- Keywords
- kisspeptin, total testosterone, smokeless tobacco, smoking, male infertility, hypothalamic-pituitary-gonadal axis, lipid profile, HDL cholesterol, triglycerides, hypothalamic function
- MeSH terms
- Tobacco Smoking, Adult, Cross-Sectional Studies, Humans, Infertility, Male, Male, Risk Factors, Testosterone, Tobacco, Smokeless, Kisspeptins, Healthy Volunteers
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