Hypogonadism Ups the Risk of Autoimmunity Save

In a variety of models, testosterone has been shown to be immunosuppressive and deficiency of testosterone has been linked with autoimmune disease and increases in C-reactive protein (CRP), tumor necrosis factor, and interleukin-6 (IL-6). There have been no studies to examine the association between low levels of testosterone and autoimmunity.

Researchers from UTMB Galvestion assessed if untreated hypogonadism was associated with an increased risk of autoimmune disease. Using a large commercial insurance database, the retrospective studied 123,460 men diagnosed with hypogonadism (with no prior rheumatic or autoimmune disease) and matched them in a 1 to 3 ratio with 370,380 men without hypogonadism.

The endpoint was being diagnosed with a rheumatic autoimmune disease. Untreated hypogonadism was associated with a 33% increased risk of developing any rheumatic autoimmune disease (HR = 1.33, 95 % CI = 1.28, 1.38), including an increased risk of RA (HR = 1.31) and lupus (HR = 1.58).

It's unknown if testosterone treatment of those with hypogonadism would alter their risk of rheumatic or autoimmune disease.