Bariatric surgery increases testosterone levels in males

Canada: The demand for bariatric surgery is inclining globally. Such weight loss surgery helps you lose weight and lowers your risk of medical problems associated with obesity and increases testosterone levels post-surgery.

A new study published in the journal Obesity Surgery reveals that sustained weight-loss induced by bariatric surgery had a significant effect on increasing male sex hormones and decreasing female sex hormones in male patients with obesity. However, sperm quality and function were not improved after surgery.

Previous studies have focuses on the relationship between fertility and bariatric surgery on women. Lee and associates conducted a study to review the available research on the influence of this procedure on male sex hormones and sperm quality.

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"As the prevalence of both male infertility and bariatric surgery increases, knowledge of how surgical intervention affects fertility outcomes may better inform patient and surgeon decisions on pursuing this procedure," says Lee, the lead author of the study.

The systematic review and meta-analysis extracted data from MEDLINE, EMBASE, Web of Science, and Scopus showing the effect of bariatric surgery on male sex hormones and sperm parameters in patients with obesity. The primary outcomes were sex hormones and sperm quality. The secondary outcome was the sexual function. A total of 28 cohort studies with 1022 patients were identified from 3896 potentially relevant citations.

The key study findings included are:

• Both free and calculated testosterone levels were significantly increased after bariatric surgery.


• Consistent with the increase in testosterone, LH, FSH, and SHBG levels were also significantly increased after surgery.


• In contrast, free and total estradiol and prolactin levels were significantly decreased after bariatric surgery.


• From studies that reported the IIEF score, bariatric surgery led to a significant increase in erectile function after surgery.


• However, bariatric surgery did not affect sperm quality, DHEA, androstenedione, and inhibin B levels.


• Sustained weight-loss induced by bariatric surgery had a significant effect on increasing male sex hormones and decreasing female sex hormones in male patients with obesity. However, sperm quality and function were not improved after surgery.

Read Also: Bariatric surgery reduces risk of microvascular complications in diabetes

The investigators warrant the need for long-term comparative studies or adequately powered randomized controlled trials to further examine the impact of bariatric surgery on male sex hormones and sperm quality.

Obese men, in particular, are known to experience lower testosterone levels, lower sexual satisfaction, and reduced fertility compared to men of normal weight. On average the odds of male infertility are said to increase by 10 percent for every nine kilograms a man is overweight.

For full information log on to https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11695-018-3557-5