Hypogonadism in Nigerian men with type 2 diabetes mellitus

Hypogonadism in patients with diabetes mellitus (DM) has been associated with insulin resistance and poor glycaemic control. This study was conducted to determine the prevalence, types, and associations of hypogonadism in Nigerian men with established type 2 diabetes mellitus. The study was a cross-sectional observational work, which was conducted at the Lagos University Teaching Hospital (LUTH). The participants consisted of 108 men with type 2 DM and 56 non-diabetic controls. A questionnaire was used to obtain demographic data while the Androgen Deficiency in Aging Male (ADAM) questionnaire was administered to elicit symptoms of hypogonadism. The enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) method was used to test for serum-free testosterone, luteinizing hormone (LH), follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH), prolactin, and estradiol. Other investigations done included fasting lipid profile, fasting plasma glucose, and glycated haemoglobin (HbA1c). Statistical analysis was done with SPSS v20. Tests of normality were carried out on the data to determine appropriate statistical analytic methods. The mean (±SD) ages of the DM patients and controls were 51.7 ± 5.9 and 50.9 ± 4.6 years, respectively (p = 0.349), with a mean duration of diabetes 93.6 ± 6.29 months. Among the DM patients, 17 (15.7 %) were obese, while 6 (10.7 %) controls had obesity. Hypogonadism (predominantly secondary in (78.5 %)) was present in 42 (38.9 %) of the DM patients. In the controls, only 2 (3.6 %) had hypogonadism. Predictors of hypogonadism were a high HbA1c. Hypogonadism, which was predominantly secondary hypogonadism, was prevalent in the patients and was associated with HbA1c levels.