Low free testosterone is associated with increased mortality in frail surgical patients

Title

Low free testosterone is associated with increased mortality in frail surgical patients

Creator

Fangyi Lin
Gordon Hong
Frances Kwon
Farha Pirani
Salima Makhani
Mark Henry
Ian Cooke
Reza Nabavizadeh
Eric Midenberg
Akanksha Mehta
Chad Ritenour
Viraj A Master
Kenneth Ogan

Date

2022

Description

Background: Preoperative frailty has been associated with adverse postoperative outcomes. Additionally, low testosterone has been associated with physical frailty and cognitive decline. However, the impact of simultaneous frailty and low testosterone on surgical outcomes is understudied.

Methods: Preoperative frailty status and testosterone levels were obtained in patients undergoing a diverse range of surgical procedures. Preoperative frailty was evaluated independently and in combination with testosterone through the creation of composite risk groups. Relationships between preoperative frailty and composite risk groups with overall survival were determined using Kaplan-Meier and logistic regression analyses. Bivariate analysis was used to determine the associations between frailty and testosterone status on postoperative complications, length of hospital stay, and readmission rates.

Results: Median age of the cohort was 63 years, and the median follow-up time was 105 weeks. Thirty-one patients (23%) were frail, and 36 (27%) had low free testosterone. Bivariate analysis demonstrated a statistically significant relationship between preoperative frailty and overall survival (P = .044). In multivariate analysis, coexisting frailty and low free testosterone were significantly associated with decreased overall survival (hazard ratio 4.93, 95% confidence interval, 1.68-14.46, P = .004).

Conclusion: We observed preoperative frailty, both independently and in combination with low free testosterone levels, to be significantly associated with decreased overall survival across various surgical procedures. Personalizing the surgical risk assessment through the incorporation of preoperative frailty and testosterone status may serve to improve the prognostication of patients undergoing major surgery.

Source

Surg Open Sci
. 2021 Nov 14;7:36-41. doi: 10.1016/j.sopen.2021.11.002. eCollection 2022 Jan.

Language

English

Citation

Fangyi Lin et al., “Low free testosterone is associated with increased mortality in frail surgical patients,” NEOMED Bibliography Database, accessed May 10, 2024, https://neomed.omeka.net/items/show/12138.