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

  • Safir Ullah Khan Department of Biology, Autonomous University of Madrid, Madrid, Spain
  • Maleeha Akram Department of Zoology, Wildlife and Fisheries, Pir Mehr Ali Shah Arid Agriculture University Rawalpindi, Rawalpindi, Pakistan
  • Zubaria Iqbal Department of Zoology, Wildlife and Fisheries, Pir Mehr Ali Shah Arid Agriculture University Rawalpindi, Rawalpindi, Pakistan
  • Muhammad Javid Department of Zoology, Wildlife and Fisheries, Pir Mehr Ali Shah Arid Agriculture University Rawalpindi, Rawalpindi, Pakistan
  • Shiza Unab Department of Zoology, University of Mianwali, Mianwali, Pakistan
  • Saba Jannat Department of Zoology, Wildlife and Fisheries, Pir Mehr Ali Shah Arid Agriculture University Rawalpindi, Rawalpindi, Pakistan
  • Amir Ali Department of Botany, Pir Mehr Ali Shah Arid Agriculture University Rawalpindi, Rawalpindi, Pakistan
  • Muhammad Fiaz Khan Department of Zoology, Hazara University Mansehra, Mansehra, Pakistan
  • Waqar Ali Department of Biochemistry, University of Campania Luigi Vanvitelli, Vanvitelli, Italy
  • Muhammad Rafi Department of Zoology, Wildlife and Fisheries, Pir Mehr Ali Shah Arid Agriculture University Rawalpindi, Rawalpindi, Pakistan
  • Mazhar Qayyum Department of Zoology, Wildlife and Fisheries, Pir Mehr Ali Shah Arid Agriculture University Rawalpindi, Rawalpindi, Pakistan
  • Shakeel Raza Rizvi Department of Zoology, Wildlife and Fisheries, Pir Mehr Ali Shah Arid Agriculture University Rawalpindi, Rawalpindi, Pakistan
Keywords: T2DM, cortisol, testosterone, BMI

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.

Published
2022-09-30
How to Cite
Khan, Safir, Maleeha Akram, Zubaria Iqbal, Muhammad Javid, Shiza Unab, Saba Jannat, Amir Ali, Muhammad Khan, Waqar Ali, Muhammad Rafi, Mazhar Qayyum, and Shakeel Rizvi. 2022. “Relationship Between Testosterone and Cortisol Levels and Body Mass Index in Men With Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus”. Romanian Journal of Diabetes Nutrition and Metabolic Diseases 29 (3), 341-48. https://rjdnmd.org/index.php/RJDNMD/article/view/1139.