TOPLINE:
Men with diabetes and hypogonadism who received testosterone therapy had lower risks for acute kidney injury, kidney failure requiring replacement therapy, cardiovascular events, and all-cause mortality than those who did not receive the treatment.
METHODOLOGY:
- Researchers conducted a retrospective study to examine whether testosterone therapy reduced the risk for acute kidney injury and kidney failure among men with diabetes and hypogonadism.
- They included 26,027 men with diabetes and hypogonadism (mean age, 58.3 years; 71% non-Hispanic White) who received testosterone therapy and matched them to an equal number of untreated men; diabetes was diagnosed before hypogonadism.
- Clinical outcomes were acute kidney injury and kidney failure requiring replacement therapy, identified using diagnostic codes; ischaemic stroke, acute myocardial infarction, and all-cause mortality were also assessed.
- The median follow-up duration was 3.9 years.
TAKEAWAY:
- Participants receiving testosterone therapy had a lower risk for acute kidney injury than matched untreated control individuals (hazard ratio [HR], 0.93; P = .01).
- Testosterone therapy was also associated with a lower risk for kidney failure requiring replacement therapy than no testosterone (HR, 0.81; P = .001).
- Men treated with testosterone had lower odds of acute myocardial infarction, ischaemic stroke, and atrial fibrillation than matched untreated control individuals; all-cause mortality was also lower in the testosterone group.
IN PRACTICE:
“[The study] findings suggest that testosterone therapy could be more readily considered for men with diabetes and hypogonadism as a potential intervention to prevent kidney injury,” the authors of the study wrote.
SOURCE:
This study was led by Fabrice Bonnet, Service Endocrinologie-Diabétologie CHU de Rennes, Université de Rennes, Rennes, France. It was published online on October 01, 2025, in Cardiovascular Diabetology.
LIMITATIONS:
The results observed in this study might not have accounted for unmeasured confounding factors. Data on testosterone dose, formulation, and adherence during follow-up were unavailable. The predominantly White non-Hispanic study population may have limited generalisability to other ethnic groups.
DISCLOSURES:
No funding was received from any public, commercial, or non-profit organisations for this research. The authors reported having no competing interests.
