Purpose: Testosterone supplement treatment (TST) is a classic therapy for hypogonadal men with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM), but the effects of TST in different studies are inconsistent. We conducted this meta-analysis to evaluate the precise role of TST in hypogonadal men with T2DM.
Methods: PubMed, Embase, Cochrane Library and Web of Science were searched to identify qualified randomized controlled trials (RCTs). Pooled mean differences (MDs) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were calculated to measure the specific effects of TST. Trial sequential analysis was performed to verify the pooled results.
Results: A total of eight RCTs were enrolled in our meta-analysis, including 596 hypogonadal participants with T2DM. Compared with comparators, TST can significantly improve glycemic control by reducing homeostatic model assessment of insulin resistance (MD - 0.79, 95% CI - 1.23 to - 0.34), fasting glucose (MD - 0.98, 95% CI - 1.13 to - 0.54), fasting insulin (MD - 2.47, 95% CI - 3.99 to - 0.95) and HbA1c% (MD - 0.45, 95% CI - 0.73 to - 0.16). In addition, TST can result in a decline in cholesterol (MD - 0.29, 95% CI - 0.38 to - 0.19) and triglyceride (MD - 0.37, 95% CI - 0.59 to - 0.15).
Conclusion: Our results indicated that TST can improve glycemic control and decrease TC and TG in hypogonadal patients with T2DM. We recommend TST during the anti-diabetic therapy in these patients.
Keywords: Glucose; Lipid; Metabolism; T2DM; TST.