Evidence map›Paper›PMID 38958350›Full record

ArticleAndrology2025

Testosterone levels increase following bariatric surgery - validation of preceding literature in a large-scale population analysis.

Edoardo Pozzi, Corey A Able, Taylor P Kohn, Andrea Salonia, Ranjith Ramasamy

Abstract readValidation Study
In one paragraph

Article in Andrology, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 3 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.

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

3 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.

  1. Pooled it
  2. Pooled it
  3. 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

5 authors.

Edoardo PozziDesai Sethi Urology Institute, Miller School of Medicine, University of Miami, Miami, Florida, USA.
Corey A AbleDepartment of Surgery, Division of Urology, The University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston, Galveston, Texas, USA.
Taylor P KohnThe James Buchanan Brady Urological Institute, Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions, Baltimore, Maryland, USA.
Andrea SaloniaDepartment of Urology, Vita-Salute San Raffaele University, Milan, Italy.ORCID 0000-0002-0595-7165
Ranjith RamasamyDesai Sethi Urology Institute, Miller School of Medicine, University of Miami, Miami, Florida, USA.ORCID 0000-0003-1387-7904

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundThe effects of bariatric surgery on testosterone levels in men with obesity and hypogonadism have not been thoroughly explored yet.

objectivesTo investigate the possible effects of bariatric surgery on T levels in obese hypogonadal men by comparing T levels before and after surgery using a comprehensive claims database. MATERIALS AND

methodsThe TriNetX US Collaborative Network database was used to identify men ages 18-80 who underwent a bariatric procedure and had a serum T value of < 350 ng/dL prior to surgery. Men who received testosterone therapy before/or after surgery were excluded. We conducted a retrospective self-matched cohort analysis to examine the difference in serum T levels before and after bariatric surgery. A sub-analysis was carried out to explore differences between men who reached eugonadal status or maintained low T levels following surgery. Descriptive statistics detailed sociodemographic and clinical characteristics, with continuous and categorical data compared using unpaired t-tests and chi-square analysis, respectively. Changes in T levels and body mass index (BMI) before and after surgery were compared using an unpaired t-test with a < 0.05 set for significance. All analyses were conducted using the TriNetX platform which utilizes both Python and R software.

resultsThe study analyzed 69 hypogonadal men who underwent bariatric surgery and had T levels assessed before and after the procedure. The mean (standard deviation) pre-surgery serum T level was 208 ± 79 ng/dL, which post-surgery increased to 371 ± 164 ng/dL, marking an average increase of 163 ± 164 ng/dL. Likewise, the mean (standard deviation) body mass index decreased from 42.9 ± 9.0 to 38.8 ± 5.7 kg/m

conclusionThis study provides evidence of bariatric surgery's positive effect on serum T levels in obese men with baseline low T. Almost one out of two men with low T reached normal T levels after bariatric surgery. As the most comprehensive study to date, it validates and substantiates previous work suggesting that weight loss can improve T levels physiologically.

Indexed as

Bariatric SurgeryHypogonadismObesityTestosteroneAdolescentAdultAgedAged, 80 and overBody Mass IndexHumansMaleMiddle AgedRetrospective StudiesYoung AdultTestosteronebariatric surgeryepidemiologyobesitytestosterone

Identifiers

PMID38958350
PMCPMC11867915

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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.