In a new study, researchers found that COVID-19 may deteriorate men’s testosterone levels.
They found as men’s testosterone level decreases, the probability for them to be in the intensive care unit (ICU) strongly increases.
While it has already been reported that low testosterone levels could be a cause for poor prognosis following a positive SARS-CoV-2 test, this is the first study to show that COVID-19 itself depletes testosterone.
It is hoped that the development could help to explain why so many studies have found that male prognosis is worse than those females with COVID-19, and therefore to discover possible improvement using testosterone-based treatments.
The research was conducted by a team from the University of Mersin and elsewhere.
Testosterone is associated with the immune system of respiratory organs, and low levels of testosterone might increase the risk of respiratory infections.
According to the team, low testosterone is also associated with infection-related hospitalization and all-cause mortality in males in ICU patients, so testosterone treatment may also have benefits beyond improving outcomes for COVID-19.
In this study, the team looked at a total of 438 patients. This included 232 males, each with laboratory-confirmed SARS-CoV-2.
They found the mean total testosterone decreased, as the severity of the COVID-19 increased.
The mean total testosterone level was much lower in the ICU group than in the asymptomatic group.
In addition, the mean total testosterone level was much lower in the ICU group than in the Intermediate Care Unit group.
The mean serum follicle-stimulating hormone level was much higher in the ICU group than in the asymptomatic group.
The patients who died had much lower mean total testosterone than the patients who were alive.
In addition, even 65.2% of the 46 male patients who were asymptomatic had a loss of libido.
The team says that it could be recommended that at the time of COVID-19 diagnosis, testosterone levels are also tested.
In men with low levels of sex hormones who test positive for COVID-19, testosterone treatment could improve their prognosis.
One author of the study is Selahittin Çayan, Professor of Urology.
The study is published in The Aging Male.
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