Title:Testosterone Supplementation on Sarcopenia Components in Chronic Patients:
A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis
Volume: 28
Issue: 7
Author(s): Camila Correa, Patrícia Bieger, Ingrid S. Perry and Gabriela C. Souza*
Affiliation:
- Department
of Food, Nutrition and Health, School of Medicine, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul, Porto Alegre, RS, Brazil
- Food and Nutrition Research Center HCPA/UFRGS, Porto Alegre, RS, Brazil
Keywords:
Testosterone, sarcopenia, muscle mass, muscle strength, muscle function, chronic disease.
Abstract:
Background: Sarcopenia is a progressive and generalized skeletal muscle disorder with unfavorable
muscle changes throughout life, which can be associated with chronic disease. Testosterone supplementation is
emerging as a possible therapy; however, it is still necessary to explore its effectiveness.
Objectives: This systematic review and meta-analysis aimed to evaluate and summarize the evidence related to
the effect of testosterone supplementation on sarcopenia components of chronic disease patients.
Methods: We performed a systematic review and meta-analysis with studies that assessed the effect of testosterone
supplementation on sarcopenia components of chronic disease patients. Papers were identified using
Medical Subject Heading (MeSH) terms, combining “sarcopenia”, “muscular atrophy”, and “testosterone”,
searching MEDLINE, EMBASE, and Cochrane Library databases, and also hand searching.
Results: The database search resulted in 1602 applicable citations that could be included. Of those, 1560 were
removed at the first phase, by reading the title and abstract, and a total of 17 studies were finally included after
full-text assessment and manual searches of previous review references. With regard to the effects of testosterone
supplementation on sarcopenia components, when taken together, the evaluated studies presented an increase
in muscle mass and/or muscle strength, but results for muscle functional capacity were inconsistent.
Conclusion: Testosterone supplementation increased the muscle mass and muscle strength in chronic disease
patients. However, current evidence does not indicate that those patients could benefit from testosterone supplementation
in order to improve their muscle function.
