Testosterone deficiency in non-obese type 2 diabetic male patients

Background and aims: it is unclear whether male hypogonadism is ascribable to the diabetic state per se, or because of other factors, such as obesity or age. We aimed to investigate the prevalence and identify the predictors for testosterone deficiency among non-obese type 2 diabetic males. Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted on 95 nonobese type 2 diabetic males with BMI below 30. We evaluated the total testosterone (TT) levels to determine prevalence and risk factors of testosterone deficiency. Serum TT ≤ 300 ng/dl defined testosterone deficiency. Results: The prevalence of testosterone deficiency was 29.1%. Testosterone deficient patients had statistically significantly higher visceral adiposity index (VAI), waist, and triglyceride in comparison with normal testosterone patients. TT level correlated with VAI, waist, BMI, LH, and age. VAI was the only significant predictor of TT levels even after adjustment for age and BMI in regression analysis. Furthermore, VAI was a statistically significant risk factor for testosterone deficiency in binary logistic analysis. Conclusions: testosterone deficient non-obese type 2 diabetic male patients had elevated VAI, waist, and triglyceride. Moreover, elevated VAI was a risk factor for testosterone deficiency. VAI could be an easily applicable and reliable index for the evaluation and prediction in type 2 non-obese diabetic males.