Hyperuricemia and testosterone deficiency: An underestimated correlation

Abstract

Hyperuricemia and testosterone deficiency (TD) are two relatively common conditions in clinical practice. We conducted the present study on 9573 men to evaluate the association between the two conditions and establish a hypothetic explanation. Compared with the normal group, the hyperuricemia group has lower testosterone level (14.79 ± 5.55 vs. 17.12 ± 6.24, p < 0.001) and lower LH level (5.57 ± 3.31 vs. 5.75 ± 3.21, p = 0.003). There is a weak negative correlation between testosterone and serum uric acid (SUA) after adjusting for confounding factors (Spearman's Rho = -0.2, p < 0.001). On linear regression, serum uric acid corresponds to testosterone with the formula: Testosterone = -0.015 x SUA + 22.37. We hypothesize that the mechanism underlying testosterone deficiency in hyperuricemia patients is due to an inhibition of LH release of the pituitary. Further studies are needed to examine this hypothesis.