Testosterone and Liver Disease in Men.

This study looked at testosterone levels in men with cirrhosis, a liver disease. They studied men from one medical center who had their testosterone levels measured between 2002 and 2020.

In this group of 766 men, a third had cirrhosis from alcohol use and about 12% had a type of liver disease called non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). The typical age was 56 years old and more than half of the patients had low testosterone levels.

Interestingly, they found that men with cirrhosis from alcohol use and NAFLD had even lower testosterone levels compared to men with cirrhosis from other causes. This finding remained true even when they took into account the patients' age and the severity of their liver disease.


Notably, they found that men with lower testosterone levels were more likely to die or need a liver transplant within a year, or to have their liver disease get worse.

In conclusion, low testosterone is common in men with cirrhosis and can indicate worse outcomes. 

Testosterone levels were particularly low in men with alcohol-related and NAFLD cirrhosis. Ross Apostolov, R. et. al., (2023).  Testosterone is lower in men with non-alcoholic fatty liver disease and alcohol-related cirrhosis and is associated with adverse clinical outcomes, Scandinavian Journal of Gastroenterology, DOI: 10.1080/00365521.2023.2220857

So. . . it appears as though we might be able to help people with cirrhosis by providing them with testosterone to improve their life expectancy. 

Jason & Rita