Testosterone deficiency in dialysis patients: Differences according to the dialysis techniques

Testosterone deficiency is a prevalent condition in male patients with chronic kidney disease. However, it is not known whether the type of renal replacement therapy has an impact on testosterone deficiency that accompanies loss of renal function. Methods: The cross-sectional study enrolled 79 prevalent male patients on dialysis; 43 on haemodialysis (HD) and 36 on peritoneal dialysis (PD). The median age was 69 years and 31.6% were diabetics. Endogenous testosterone levels were measured by immunoluminescence assay (normal range 3–10.5 ng/ml), while nutritional/inflammatory markers, bone and mineral metabolism markers, anemia, type of dialysis technique and time on dialysis were also assessed. Body composition was evaluated by bioimpedance vector analysis and bioimpedance spectroscopy. Testosterone deficiency was defined as levels below 3 ng/ml. Results: Mean testosterone levels were 8.81 ± 6.61 ng/ml. Testosterone deficiency affected 39.5% of HD patients and only 5.6% of PD patients. In the univariate analysis, testosterone levels were directly correlated with type of dialysis technique (HD) (Rho Spearman 0.366; p