Relationship between testosterone and cortisol levels and body mass index in men with type 2 diabetes mellitus

Abstract

Stress can lead to type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM), as it is one of the agents responsible for increasing blood glucose levels. In turn, T2DM may be one of the most common causes of hypogonadism that negatively affects testosterone production in the testes. Emerging evidence links insulin resistance, a key feature of T2DM, with decreased testosterone secretion by the Leydig cell. Low gonadal steroids have been associated with metabolic abnormalities such as hyperglycemia. We sought to compare testosterone and cortisol levels and their relationship between Pakistani older/younger men’s age groups with T2DM and age-matched controls. We enrolled 87 men with T2DM and 90 controls aged 21–60. Anthropometric measurements, serum testosterone and cortisol levels were assessed using the RIA system. We assessed the correlation between serum testosterone and cortisol levels and BMI. Testosterone levels were lower in T2DM patients than in controls (2.612±0.3524 vs. 5.143±0.4334 nmol/L, p=0.0001), and cortisol levels were higher in patients than in controls (599.8±35.69 vs. 441.7±18.33 nmol/L, p=0.0001). Testosterone levels in T2DM patients were positively correlated with cortisol levels and BMI (r=0.1582, 0.08621). In conclusion, most of the T2DM patients had low testosterone levels, whether they had high or low cortisol levels.