Evidence map›Paper›PMID 20554979›Full record

ArticleThe New England journal of medicine2010

Identification of late-onset hypogonadism in middle-aged and elderly men.

Frederick C W Wu, Abdelouahid Tajar, Jennifer M Beynon, Stephen R Pye, Alan J Silman, Joseph D Finn, Terence W O'Neill, Gyorgy Bartfai, Felipe F Casanueva, Gianni Forti and 11 more

Open access · bronzeAbstract readMulticenter Study
PubMed Publisher
In one paragraph

Article in The New England journal of medicine, 2010. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 472 papers, 10 of them syntheses that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
472citing papers in PubMed, 10 pooled it
53.3field-weighted citation impact, top 1% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

472 citing papers in PubMed, 10 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 1,501 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Pooled it
  2. Pooled it
  3. Pooled it
  4. Effects of Tribulus (Nutrients · 2025
    Pooled it
  5. Pooled it
  6. Testosterone replacement in men with sexual dysfunction.The Cochrane database of systematic reviews · 2024
    Pooled it
  7. Guideline
  8. Pooled it
  9. Pooled it
  10. Pooled it
  11. Trial
  12. Trial
  13. Trial
  14. Trial
  15. Article
  16. Autoimmunity and Inflammaging in Male Infertility.Clinical reviews in allergy & immunology · 2026
    Review
  17. Review
  18. Article
  19. Article
  20. Review

412 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

21 authors at 11 institutions in 8 countries.

Frederick C W WuAndrology Research Unit, Developmental and Regenerative Biomedicine Research Group, University of Manchester, Manchester Academic Health Science Centre, Manchester, United Kingdom. frederick.wu@manchester.ac.uk
Abdelouahid Tajar
Jennifer M Beynon
Stephen R Pye
Alan J Silman
Joseph D Finn
Terence W O'Neill
Gyorgy Bartfai
Felipe F Casanueva
Gianni Forti
Aleksander Giwercman
Thang S Han
Krzysztof Kula
Michael E J Lean
Neil Pendleton
Margus Punab
Steven Boonen
Dirk Vanderschueren
Fernand Labrie
Ilpo T Huhtaniemi
EMAS Group
KU Leuven · BEUniversity of Manchester · GBManchester Academic Health Science Centre · GBCentro de Investigación Biomédica en Red · ESImperial College London · GBMedical University of Lodz · PLSalford Royal NHS Foundation Trust · GBSkåne University Hospital · SEUniversité Laval · CAUniversity College London · GBUniversity of Glasgow · GB

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundThe association between aging-related testosterone deficiency and late-onset hypogonadism in men remains a controversial concept. We sought evidence-based criteria for identifying late-onset hypogonadism in the general population on the basis of an association between symptoms and a low testosterone level.

methodsWe surveyed a random population sample of 3369 men between the ages of 40 and 79 years at eight European centers. Using questionnaires, we collected data with regard to the subjects' general, sexual, physical, and psychological health. Levels of total testosterone were measured in morning blood samples by mass spectrometry, and free testosterone levels were calculated with the use of Vermeulen's formula. Data were randomly split into separate training and validation sets for confirmatory analyses.

resultsIn the training set, symptoms of poor morning erection, low sexual desire, erectile dysfunction, inability to perform vigorous activity, depression, and fatigue were significantly related to the testosterone level. Increased probabilities of the three sexual symptoms and limited physical vigor were discernible with decreased testosterone levels (ranges, 8.0 to 13.0 nmol per liter [2.3 to 3.7 ng per milliliter] for total testosterone and 160 to 280 pmol per liter [46 to 81 pg per milliliter] for free testosterone). However, only the three sexual symptoms had a syndromic association with decreased testosterone levels. An inverse relationship between an increasing number of sexual symptoms and a decreasing testosterone level was observed. These relationships were independently confirmed in the validation set, in which the strengths of the association between symptoms and low testosterone levels determined the minimum criteria necessary to identify late-onset hypogonadism.

conclusionsLate-onset hypogonadism can be defined by the presence of at least three sexual symptoms associated with a total testosterone level of less than 11 nmol per liter (3.2 ng per milliliter) and a free testosterone level of less than 220 pmol per liter (64 pg per milliliter).

Indexed as

Activities of Daily LivingAdultAgedAge of OnsetDepressionErectile DysfunctionEuropeFatigueHealth SurveysHumansHypogonadismLibidoLogistic ModelsMaleMiddle AgedPrevalenceTestosterone

Identifiers

PMID20554979
OpenAlexW2096237552

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.