CoChat
Sign Up
Cited by 430Hormonal and reproductive studiesSperm and Testicular FunctionOvarian function and disorders

Low serum testosterone and sex-hormone-binding-globulin in massively obese men

GLASS, ALLAN R., SWERDLOFF, RONALD S., BRAY, GEORGE A., DAHMS, WILLIAM T., ATKINSON, RICHARD L.·1977·The Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism
DOI 10.1210/jcem-45-6-1211
Open this paper in CoChat — free account

Abstract

Reproductive hormonal dynamics were assessed in 10 massively obese men, 200–380% of ideal body weight (percentage ideal body weight) and 11 similarly-aged controls who were 85–135% of ideal body weight. The mean serum testosterone of the obese group was significantly lower than normal (223.1 ± 26.9 (sem) ng/dl vs. 599.2 ± 58.1 ng/dl, P < 0.001). Despite their reduced serum testosterone levels, the obese subjects had normal secondary sexual characteristics except for slightly decreased facial hair and normal sized testes. The mean sex-hormone-binding-globulin level of the obese group was also lower than normal (0.247 ± 0.037 (sem) μg dihydrotestosterone bound/dl vs. 0.672 ±0.125 μg/dl, P < 0.01), while their mean per cent free testosterone, determined by equilibrium dialysis, was higher than normal (4.19 ± 0.29 (SEM) % vs. 2.04 ± 0.08%, P < 0.001). Though the mean free testosterone was not significantly different in the 2 groups (obese 9.5 ± 1.3 (SEM) ng/dl, normal 12.1 ± 1.1 ng/dl), within the obese group there were significant negative correlations between total serum testosterone and percentage ideal body weight (r = −0.85, P < 0.01), as well as between free testosterone and percentage ideal body weight (r = −0.70, P < 0.05). Two of the most obese subjects (wt > 220 kg) had free testosterone concentrations more than two standard deviations below the normal mean. Within the obese group, there was no significant correlation of sex-hormone-binding-globulin with total serum testosterone, free testosterone, or percentage ideal body weight. Baseline serum LH and FSH were normal in 9 obese subjects, including the 2 with low free testosterone, and elevated in one whose free testosterone was normal. The increases in serum LH after LHRH were not subnormal in the obese group, and the 2 subjects with low free testosterone did not have supranormal responses. Increases in serum LH and FSH after clomiphene were normal in the obese group. The serum testosterone of the obese group increased by a mean of 190% after clomiphene and by a further 120% (mean) after HCG, with all subjects attaining a serum testosterone over 600 ng/dl, thus indicating substantial testicular reserve. We conclude that, in massively obese men, 1) serum testosterone and sex-hormone-binding-globulin are low, 2) total serum testosterone and free testosterone correlate negatively with weight but do not correlate significantly with sex-hormone-binding-globulin, 3) responses to LHRH, HCG, and clomiphene indicate substantial reproductive hormonal axis reserve, and 4) a subpopulation (2/10) of the most massively obese subjects may have a defect in the hypothalamic-pituitary axis as suggested by its low free testosterone in the absence of elevated gonadotropins or hyper-response to LRH.

Integrity signals

Registry

Crossref · 10.1210/jcem-45-6-1211

Cites

22 of 22 references verified0 citation errors · 0 not checkable

Statistics

Recomputing p-values needs the paper’s full text.

Claims the paper makes

This paper’s full text isn’t openly available, so its claims and self-check weren’t run. The registry and citation checks still apply.

Claims other papers make about this one

Each is checked against this paper’s own text: does it say what the citing paper says it does?

  • Multiple groups have observed a significant negative association between obesity and testosterone levels.

    “A significant negative association has also been observed between obesity and T levels by multiple groups,72-74 emphasizing the metabolic importance of maintaining T production with age.”

    From Hormonal and Metabolic Changes of Aging and the Influence of Lifestyle Modifications (2021) · cites this paper as [73]

Cites

Flagged first, then by citations

Cited by

Sorted by citations

Related

Authors
GLASS, A. R., SWERDLOFF, R. S., BRAY, G. A., DAHMS, W. T., & ATKINSON, R. L.
Affiliations
University of California, Los Angeles (US)
ORCID
Venue
The Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism
Publisher
The Endocrine Society
Published
1977-12
Volume
45
Issue
6
Pages
1211-1219
ISSN
  • 0021-972X (ISSN-L)
  • 1945-7197
DOI
10.1210/jcem-45-6-1211
OpenAlex
W2134433172
Cited by
430
References
22
Citations by year
2025: 8 · 2024: 14 · 2023: 13 · 2022: 9 · 2021: 16 · 2020: 11 · 2019: 9 · 2018: 12 · 2017: 13 · 2016: 11 · 2015: 11 · 2014: 10 · 2013: 11 · 2012: 6
FWCI
5.20
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
closed
Locations
  • The Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
Funders
NIH Clinical Center
Topics
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Endocrinology, Diabetes and Metabolism › Hormonal and reproductive studies
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Reproductive Medicine › Sperm and Testicular Function
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Reproductive Medicine › Ovarian function and disorders
Keywords
obesity, androgen deficiency, sex hormone-binding globulin, free testosterone, hypogonadism, luteinizing hormone, follicle-stimulating hormone, secondary sexual characteristics, male reproductive hormones, hyperandrogenism, lipoatrophy
MeSH terms
Adult, Follicle Stimulating Hormone, Humans, Hypothalamus, Luteinizing Hormone, Gonadotropin-Releasing Hormone, Male, Obesity, Pituitary Gland, Sex Hormone-Binding Globulin, Testis, Testosterone

About these checks

Registry, retraction, Cites and statistics results are computed, not judged, with one exception: a printed reference that no index lists is read once by a model before it counts as a citation error. Claims are extracted by a model and kept only when their quote appears verbatim in the text; each cited source is then checked, with a model’s help, for whether it says what the claim relies on. Those verdicts can be wrong — read the claim’s quote and the cited source before relying on one.

Statistics and arithmetic are recomputed, not judged.

Confidence bands are shown only for fields calibrated on our annotated test set. None is calibrated yet, so no band is shown.

What counts as a claim ›How we measure confidence ›How we check this ›

Are you an author, or do you see a problem with this page? Request a review