Testosterone deficiency or male hypogonadism

Abstract

Testosterone defi ciency (TD) may represent a cardiovascular risk factor, as it has become a frequently diagnosed condition in the current obesity epidemic. Men diagnosed with TD often have comorbidities including hypertension, metabolic syndrome, and sleep apnea. Apart from sexual aspects including lack of sex drive and erectile dysfunction, challenging aspects in diagnosing and treating patients with TD include interindividual variation of symptoms combined with lack of symptom correlation with serum testosterone levels. Replacement therapy with testosterone has bene fi cial metabolic effects with an improved glycemic pro fi le and improved cardiac function in selected patients.