RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN HYPOGONADISM AND SERUM TESTOSTERONE LEVELS IN CHRONIC LIVER DISEASE

Abstract

Background: Men with extensive chronic liver disease usually have low levels of testosterone in the serum. This study looked at the relationship between hypogonadism and low serum testosterone levels in patients with chronic liver disease. Methods: This retrospective study was conducted at Central Park Teaching Hospital, Lahore from Jan 2022 to Jan 2024, on patients between 5 to 60 years of age. After approval from ERB and permission from the authorities, records were retrieved. Two hundred records of men with hepatic cirrhosis and verified hypogonadism were divided into alcoholic liver disease (ALD) and non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD), while records of 150 men as control group were include in the study. Patients’ data for ‘Sex Hormone Binding Globulin (SHBG)’ and ‘total testosterone’ were collected and entered into MS Excel file. Using SPSS-22 independent Student’s t-test was applied for statistical analysis. Results: No statistically significant variations were observed (p=0.101) in the means of SHBG across two groups but there was a statistically significant (p<0.05) variation in blood serum testosterone levels between age groups. Conclusion: Hypogonadism and low levels of testosterone are strongly linked to male patients with cirrhotic liver conditions, particularly in those with ALD, while no significant impact of SHBG was found between the two groups. Significant differences were observed between patients with ALD and NAFLD in terms of testosterone levels. Pak J Physiol 2024;20(3):53–5, DOI: https://doi.org/10.69656/pjp.v20i3.1687