Testosterone and quality of life in patients with dilated cardiomyopathy.

Background: Testosterone is an important factor that influences the quality of life in men. The purpose of this study is to evaluate how testosterone level impacts the quality of life in patients with dilated cardiomyopathy.

Methods: This cross-sectional single-center included 97 male patients with dilated cardiomyopathy, in whom serum testosterone was measured. Health-related quality of life was measured using the translated validated version of the Kansas City Cardiomyopathy Questionnaire (KCCQ-12). We used correlation and multivariable regression to assess the association between KCCQ-12 score, serum testosterone level, and clinical and paraclinical variables.

Results: The mean age of study participants was 58 (range 29-88). The mean LVEF was 25 ±8.61%. The average total serum testosterone level was 3.13 ±2.72 (range 0.19-13.5 ng/ml). The median global KCCQ-12 score was 44.8 (6.2-90.6) representing a poor to fair impairment in quality of life. There was an inverse correlation between the KCCQ-12 score and NYHA class (Pearson coefficient r = 0.847 p<0.001) and a direct correlation with LVEF (r=0.445, p<0.001). Also, the KCCQ-12 score correlated with hemoglobin level (r=0.214, p=0.037) and plasmatic creatinine level (r=-0.296 p= 0.004). In multivariable regression, the independent predictors of health-related quality of life were testosterone, LVEF, and NYHA class.

Conclusions: The results of this study showed for the first time a significant direct relationship between serum testosterone levels and quality of life in patients with dilated cardiomyopathy.