Published ahead of print on January 18, 2005, doi:10.1164/rccm.200501-037OC Am. J. Respir. Crit. Care Med., Volume 171, Number 7, April 2005, 728-733 A more recent version of this article appeared on April 1, 2005
Submitted on April 13, 2004 Hypogonadism in Men with Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease: Prevalence and Quality of LifeFranco Laghi1,1 Division of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine, Edward Hines Jr. Veterans Administration Hospital, Hines, IL, USA; Loyola University of Chicago, Stritch School of Medicine, Hines, IL, USA * To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: mtobin2{at}lumc.edu.
We recently reported that hypogonadism does not affect respiratory muscle performance and exercise capacity in men with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. In chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, however, the relationship between exercise capacity and quality of life is controversial, making it unreliable to extrapolate about quality of life from exercise data. Accordingly, we determined prevalence and impact of hypogonadism on health-related quality of life in men with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. We enrolled 101 stable outpatient men (forced expiratory volume in one second, 1.34±0.04 liter) over 55 years; 38 patients were hypogonadal - a prevalence similar to that reported in the general population. The degree of airflow limitation did not predict levels of free testosterone. Quality of life, as quantified by a disease-specific instrument (St. George Respiratory Questionnaire) and general-health instrument (Veterans Short Form-36) were equivalent in the hypogonadal and eugonadal groups. Both groups demonstrated large decrements in perceived physical health and smaller decrements in perceived emotional and mental health. No relationship was found between free-testosterone level and physical activity, respiratory symptoms or quality of life. In conclusion, hypogonadism, although common among men over 55 with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, does not worsen the severity of respiratory symptoms or quality of life. Key words: testosterone, androgens, exercise tolerance, aging, health status
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