Hypoandrogenism (HA) may have an association with urethral stricture (US). This study aimed to identify and quantify the association between testosterone levels and US.
A case-control study was conducted from January 2019 to January 2021. The case group included patients diagnosed with anterior US who visited our urethral office of the urology department, while the control group included patients who visited our practice due to clinical conditions unrelated to voiding. In both groups, a 10cc blood sample collection was scheduled between 7:30-9:30 a.m. The outcome was case/control status. The exposure variables were total (total-T), free (free-T), bioavailable (bio-T) testosterone, and HA (total-T < 300 ng/dL). The adjusted OR (aOR) ratios were calculated for each exposure. Age, body mass index, hypertension, diabetes, smoking, and thyroxine levels were considered possible confounding factors.
A total of 149 cases (mean age 59.5) were compared to 67 controls (64.3). US cases showed significantly lower mean total-T than controls (394 ng/dL vs. 488 ng/dL). Similarly, the HA rate was significantly higher in the US group (26% vs. 7.5%). Each 100-unit increase in total-T was related to a 34% decrease in the odds of US (aOR 0.66, 95%CI: 0.51-0.86). Similarly, each increase of 1 unit of free-T and 10 units of bio-T was associated with a decrease of 18% and 10%, respectively. A strong direct relationship was observed between HA and US (aOR 4.01, 95% CI: 1.37-11.7).
Our study demonstrates an independent association between HA and anterior US.
The Journal of urology. 2022 Aug 01 [Epub ahead of print]
Ignacio Puche-Sanz, Almudena Sabio-Bonilla, Pedro Vila-Braña P, Juan Manuel Guardia-Baena, Mercedes Nogueras-Ocaña, Francisco Javier Contreras-Matos, Laura Entrena-Ureña, Ana Jimenez-Domínguez, Alba Tamayo-Gomez, Javier Vicente-Prados, Pablo Lardelli-Claret
Instituto de Investigación Biosanitaria ibs.GRANADA, Granada, Spain., Department of Urology, Hospital Universitario Virgen de las Nieves, Granada, Spain., Department of Endocrinology, Hospital Universitario Virgen de las Nieves, Granada, Spain., Department of Urology, Hospital Universitario San Cecilio, Granada, Spain., Department of Hematology, Virgen de las Nieves Hospital, Granada, Spain.