Evidence map›Paper›PMID 27325129›Full record

SynthesisCMAJ : Canadian Medical Association journal = journal de l'Association medicale canadienne2016

Predicting low testosterone in aging men: a systematic review.

Adam C Millar, Adrian N C Lau, George Tomlinson, Alan Kraguljac, David L Simel, Allan S Detsky, Lorraine L Lipscombe

Open access · goldAbstract readSystematic Review
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Synthesis in CMAJ : Canadian Medical Association journal = journal de l'Association medicale canadienne, 2016. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 17 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
17citing papers in PubMed, 2 pooled it
5.9field-weighted citation impact, top 3% 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

17 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 57 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Pooled it
  2. Guideline
  3. Article
  4. Article
  5. Review
  6. Review
  7. Review
  8. Article
  9. Article
  10. Article
  11. [Testosterone treatment].Urologie (Heidelberg, Germany) · 2022
    Article
  12. Genetics of hypogonadotropic hypogonadism.Translational andrology and urology · 2021
    Review
  13. Testosterone in COVID-19: An Adversary Bane or Comrade Boon.Frontiers in cellular and infection microbiology · 2021
    Review
  14. Review
  15. Article
  16. Article
  17. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

7 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.

Adam C MillarDepartment of Medicine (Millar, Tomlinson, Detsky, Lipscombe) and Institute of Health Policy, Management and Evaluation (Tomlinson, Detsky, Lipscombe), University of Toronto, Toronto, Ont.; Department of Medicine (Millar, Lau, Tomlinson, Kraguljac, Detsky), Mount Sinai Hospital and University Health Network, Toronto, Ont.; Durham Veterans Affairs Medical Center (Simel), Durham, NC; Department of Medicine (Simel), Duke University, Durham, NC; Department of Medicine (Lipscombe), Women's College Research Institute of Women's College Hospital, Toronto, Ont.
Adrian N C LauDepartment of Medicine (Millar, Tomlinson, Detsky, Lipscombe) and Institute of Health Policy, Management and Evaluation (Tomlinson, Detsky, Lipscombe), University of Toronto, Toronto, Ont.; Department of Medicine (Millar, Lau, Tomlinson, Kraguljac, Detsky), Mount Sinai Hospital and University Health Network, Toronto, Ont.; Durham Veterans Affairs Medical Center (Simel), Durham, NC; Department of Medicine (Simel), Duke University, Durham, NC; Department of Medicine (Lipscombe), Women's College Research Institute of Women's College Hospital, Toronto, Ont.
George TomlinsonDepartment of Medicine (Millar, Tomlinson, Detsky, Lipscombe) and Institute of Health Policy, Management and Evaluation (Tomlinson, Detsky, Lipscombe), University of Toronto, Toronto, Ont.; Department of Medicine (Millar, Lau, Tomlinson, Kraguljac, Detsky), Mount Sinai Hospital and University Health Network, Toronto, Ont.; Durham Veterans Affairs Medical Center (Simel), Durham, NC; Department of Medicine (Simel), Duke University, Durham, NC; Department of Medicine (Lipscombe), Women's College Research Institute of Women's College Hospital, Toronto, Ont.
Alan KraguljacDepartment of Medicine (Millar, Tomlinson, Detsky, Lipscombe) and Institute of Health Policy, Management and Evaluation (Tomlinson, Detsky, Lipscombe), University of Toronto, Toronto, Ont.; Department of Medicine (Millar, Lau, Tomlinson, Kraguljac, Detsky), Mount Sinai Hospital and University Health Network, Toronto, Ont.; Durham Veterans Affairs Medical Center (Simel), Durham, NC; Department of Medicine (Simel), Duke University, Durham, NC; Department of Medicine (Lipscombe), Women's College Research Institute of Women's College Hospital, Toronto, Ont.
David L SimelDepartment of Medicine (Millar, Tomlinson, Detsky, Lipscombe) and Institute of Health Policy, Management and Evaluation (Tomlinson, Detsky, Lipscombe), University of Toronto, Toronto, Ont.; Department of Medicine (Millar, Lau, Tomlinson, Kraguljac, Detsky), Mount Sinai Hospital and University Health Network, Toronto, Ont.; Durham Veterans Affairs Medical Center (Simel), Durham, NC; Department of Medicine (Simel), Duke University, Durham, NC; Department of Medicine (Lipscombe), Women's College Research Institute of Women's College Hospital, Toronto, Ont.
Allan S DetskyDepartment of Medicine (Millar, Tomlinson, Detsky, Lipscombe) and Institute of Health Policy, Management and Evaluation (Tomlinson, Detsky, Lipscombe), University of Toronto, Toronto, Ont.; Department of Medicine (Millar, Lau, Tomlinson, Kraguljac, Detsky), Mount Sinai Hospital and University Health Network, Toronto, Ont.; Durham Veterans Affairs Medical Center (Simel), Durham, NC; Department of Medicine (Simel), Duke University, Durham, NC; Department of Medicine (Lipscombe), Women's College Research Institute of Women's College Hospital, Toronto, Ont. adetsky@mtsinai.on.ca.
Lorraine L LipscombeDepartment of Medicine (Millar, Tomlinson, Detsky, Lipscombe) and Institute of Health Policy, Management and Evaluation (Tomlinson, Detsky, Lipscombe), University of Toronto, Toronto, Ont.; Department of Medicine (Millar, Lau, Tomlinson, Kraguljac, Detsky), Mount Sinai Hospital and University Health Network, Toronto, Ont.; Durham Veterans Affairs Medical Center (Simel), Durham, NC; Department of Medicine (Simel), Duke University, Durham, NC; Department of Medicine (Lipscombe), Women's College Research Institute of Women's College Hospital, Toronto, Ont.
Durham VA Medical Center · USDuke University · US

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundPhysicians diagnose and treat suspected hypogonadism in older men by extrapolating from the defined clinical entity of hypogonadism found in younger men. We conducted a systematic review to estimate the accuracy of clinical symptoms and signs for predicting low testosterone among aging men.

methodsWe searched the MEDLINE and Embase databases (January 1966 to July 2014) for studies that compared clinical features with a measurement of serum testosterone in men. Three of the authors independently reviewed articles for inclusion, assessed quality and extracted data.

resultsAmong 6053 articles identified, 40 met the inclusion criteria. The prevalence of low testosterone ranged between 2% and 77%. Threshold testosterone levels used for reference standards also varied substantially. The summary likelihood ratio associated with decreased libido was 1.6 (95% confidence interval [CI] 1.3-1.9), and the likelihood ratio for absence of this finding was 0.72 (95% CI 0.58-0.85). The likelihood ratio associated with the presence of erectile dysfunction was 1.5 (95% CI 1.3-1.8) and with absence of erectile dysfunction was 0.83 (95% CI 0.76-0.91). Of the multiple-item instruments, the ANDROTEST showed both the most favourable positive likelihood ratio (range 1.9-2.2) and the most favourable negative likelihood ratio (range 0.37-0.49).

interpretationWe found weak correlation between signs, symptoms and testosterone levels, uncertainty about what threshold testosterone levels should be considered low for aging men and wide variation in estimated prevalence of the condition. It is therefore difficult to extrapolate the method of diagnosing pathologic hypogonadism in younger men to clinical decisions regarding age-related testosterone decline in aging men.

Indexed as

AgingAdultAgedAged, 80 and overErectile DysfunctionHumansHypogonadismLibidoLikelihood FunctionsMaleMiddle AgedPrevalenceTestosteroneTestosterone

Identifiers

PMID27325129
PMCPMC5026531
OpenAlexW2466595074

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.