Bariatric Surgery increases testosterone in adolescents

As we have stated in this blog before, there are many additional benefits of bariatric surgery, beside the obvious weight loss,  from the Halo Effect to increasing life expectancy. A recent study published in the European Journal of Endocrinology shows that Bariatric surgery is associated with a robust increase in testosterone concentrations in male adolescents with severe obesity.

This study evaluated changes in sex hormones after bariatric surgery in 34 obese men (age range: 14.6 to 19.8 years). The participants were followed for 5 years after surgery. Total testosterone, total estradiol, luteinizing hormone, follicle-stimulating hormone, sex hormone binding globulin, C-reactive protein, insulin, and glucose were measured at baseline, 6 months, and annually thereafter. Free testosterone, free estradiol and HOMA2-IR were calculated.

The participants of the study lost one-third of their body weight after bariatric surgery, with maximum weight loss achieved at 24 months for most participants. Free testosterone increased from 0.17 (95% CI: 0.13 to 0.20) at baseline to 0.34 (95% CI: 0.30 to 0.38) and 0.27 nmol/L (95% CI: 0.23 to 0.32) at 2 and 5 years (P  < 0.001 for both), respectively. Total testosterone increased from 6.7 (95% CI: 4.7 to 8.8) at baseline to 17.6 (95% CI: 15.3 to 19.9) and 13.8 (95% CI: 11.0 to 16.5) nmol/L at 2 and 5 years (P  < 0.001), respectively. Prior to surgery, 73% of the participants had subnormal free testosterone (<0.23 nmol/L). After 2 and 5 years, only 20 and 33%, respectively, had subnormal free testosterone concentrations. Weight regain was related to a fall in free testosterone concentrations.

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