Investigating the Association Between Serum Testosterone Level and Metabolic Profile in Patients with Non-alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease: A Cross-sectional Study

Considering the impact of serum testosterone levels on metabolic diseases, this study aims to investigate testosterone levels in patients with non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD).

A prospective cohort study was performed between two groups: Group A, 58 patients with NAFLD, and Group B, 59 patients without NAFLD. Fatty liver was diagnosed based on Abdominal ultrasound using the Hamaguchi score. Blood specimens were obtained from all patients between 8 and 10 AM and analyzed for testosterone, aspartate aminotransferase, alanine transaminase, serum lipid profile, ferritin, and fasting blood sugar levels.

The mean weight and body mass index were significantly higher in the study group (Group A) (P-value = 0.0001). The mean aspartate aminotransferase and alanine transaminase were 37.7 and 56.6 in Group A, respectively, and were significantly higher than the control group (Group B) (P-value = 0.0001). Fasting blood sugar, lipid profile, and serum ferritin differed between the two groups. The mean serum testosterone level was 3.38 ± 0.72 in Group A and 4.79 ± 0.88 ng/dL in Group B (P-value = 0.0001). The testosterone level negatively correlated with age and hepatic steatosis grade (P-value = 0.0001). However, it has a weak and positive correlation with BMI (P-value = 0.454).

This study revealed that the patients with NAFLD had a significantly lower level of testosterone compared to the other individuals. This study highlights the role of NAFLD as a potential cause of hypogonadism in men.