Low testosterone (or low-T) has been linked to many different diseases and adverse symptoms in both young and older men. These include type 2 diabetes, heart disease, erectile dysfunction, weight gain and depression/anxiety, just to name a few. Having adequate testosterone levels for both men and women is incredibly important for one’s health. Research over the past decade or so has proven this to us. Now, recent research is showing another problem that may arise when testosterone levels are lower than average: obstructive sleep apnea (OSA).
Inverse Relationship Found Between Sleep Apnea and Low Testosterone Levels
Sleep apnea is usually something that occurs more often with men than with women (the same goes for snoring too, but not sure if that’s really true or not!). Obstructive sleep apnea affects about 900 million in the world and can be a very scary condition. What happens is, the muscles that support the tongue and soft palate in the mouth, randomly and temporarily relax. This causes the palate and tongue to move in a way that closes or significantly narrows the airway to the point where breathing is cut off or stopped. People who suffer from this usually wake up gasping for air – not fun!
In a study published in Andrology, the severity of OSA was found to be inversely correlated with testosterone levels in men, meaning that, the worse the OSA, the lower the testosterone levels.
It’s not just low testosterone levels that severe OSA sufferers are affected by either. Men with OSA say that they also experience sexual dysfunction, including poor erections, issues ejaculating and lower frequency of sex.
The authors of the study stated, “OSA can lead to sleep fragmentation and intermittent hypoxia, with subsequent increases in oxidative stress, insulin resistance […] and these pathological changes may affect testosterone metabolism in men.” It concerns the authors that OSA may be negatively affecting testosterone metabolism in men.
Does OSA Itself Impact Testosterone Levels in Men?
However, OSA is also associated with advanced age and obesity – both of which are also associated with low testosterone levels. Therefore, the researchers wanted to study whether OSA itself could impact testosterone levels. They conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis of 18 scientific studies. Across all of these studies, 1,823 men were studied that either had OSA or did not.
After adjusting for age and body mass index (BMI) in the subgroup analysis, the inverse relationship between obstructive sleep apnea and serum testosterone levels in men was observed. In addition, the severity of OSA was also found to be inversely correlated with testosterone levels. However, when the severity was found to be considered “mild” or “moderate,” testosterone levels were not found to be significantly lowered.
As concerning as this data sounds, there were some limitations to this study, including the fact that it’s mostly cross-sectional data. This makes it harder to determine whether there really are cause-and-effect relationships between obstructive sleep apnea and low-T.
Another concern of the researchers is that obstructive sleep apnea is correlated with male sexual function and fertility, both of which are impacted by testosterone as well. The scientists concluded, “It is necessary to assess serum testosterone levels in male patients with OSA, especially those with severe OSA.”
Reference
The American Journal of Managed Care
Contact Us Today For A Free Consultation
- Low Total Testosterone in Men Linked to Chronic Diseases - August 11th, 2022
- Six Benefits of Testosterone Boosting Supplements - June 9th, 2022
- Did You Know? Testosterone Protects Your Heart! - January 21st, 2022
- Marijuana and Testosterone Levels: Are Your Manboobs Caused by Smoking Weed? - October 19th, 2021
- Testosterone, Intelligence, and Your Brain - September 1st, 2021
- Increased Fat Intake Could Boost Moderate Low Testosterone Levels - June 13th, 2021
- Low Testosterone In Women - VieNue Bioidentical ... - May 30th, 2021
- Truth About Testosterone Quiz: Low Testosterone and Axiron - April 26th, 2021
- Low T - My life was falling apart because I had low testosterone - April 25th, 2021
- Testosterone cream and gel for supplementation treating hypogonadism - March 13th, 2021
- Ester Marsh: Low testosterone and exercise - November 6th, 2020
- It is the rare man who has low T - November 4th, 2020
- Low Testosterone Linked to Non-Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease - September 10th, 2020
- Hypotestosteronism - Low Testosterone and Hypogonadism - June 12th, 2020
- The Effects of Marijuana on Testosterone Production - May 16th, 2020
- Can Testosterone Deficiency Cause or Contribute to Feelings of Depression? - May 6th, 2020
- Methadone Suppresses Testosterone Production in Men - May 5th, 2020
- How Low Testosterone Could Be Deadly - April 24th, 2020
- Testosterone Replacement Beneficial for Modern Men? - February 11th, 2020
- Low Testosterone Explained - WebMD - July 29th, 2016
- Testosterone therapy: Potential benefits and risks as you age - Mayo Clinic - July 29th, 2016
- Low Testosterone in Men - Hormone Health Network - May 9th, 2016
- 7 Symptoms of Low Testosterone in Women - May 9th, 2016
- Low Male Testosterone Level - Symptoms and Diagnosis - April 29th, 2016
- Low Testosterone (Low-T) Causes, Symptoms, Treatment - eMedicineHealth - April 17th, 2016
- How can I boost my testosterone level? - WebMD Answers - April 10th, 2016
- Increase Low Testosterone Levels with Testosterone-Rx ... - February 8th, 2016
- Low Testosterone and Your Health - WebMD - October 29th, 2015
- Low Testosterone - Steroid .com - October 22nd, 2015
- LowTestosterone.com - Symptoms of Low Testosterone - October 5th, 2015
- Is Low Testosterone Affecting Your Health? - August 8th, 2015
- Low Testosterone (Low-T): Get Facts on Levels and Treatment - August 7th, 2015
- Low Testosterone in Men With Diabetes - July 6th, 2015
- Myths and Misconceptions around Low Testosterone Treatment - Video - May 4th, 2015
- Low Testosterone Cure Intro - Video - May 3rd, 2015
- Luke McNally - Low Vitamin D may cause low testosterone - Video - April 30th, 2015
- Low Testosterone Therapy Risks and Benefits - Video - April 25th, 2015
- Too Much Estrogen? Every Man Should Watch This! - Video - April 24th, 2015
- The Truth About Low Testosterone - Video - April 21st, 2015
- Low Testosterone - Men Lose 90% of their Testosterone from age 25 to age 70 - Video - April 21st, 2015
- Ageless Living - Topic: Low Testosterone - Video - April 17th, 2015
- 10 Foods That overcome low testosterone levels - Video - April 17th, 2015
- Low testosterone - April 13th - Video - April 17th, 2015
- Low testosterone help - Video - April 11th, 2015
- Low Testosterone Treatment Center in St. Louis | Low T Therapy - April 4th, 2015
- Low-T in women can lead to obesity, study finds - April 2nd, 2015
- Men's Health Show | Low-T, Prostate, Robotic Surgery - Video - March 30th, 2015
- How can we find out if my husband has low testosterone? - Video - March 29th, 2015
- How Even Borderline Low T Might Affect Your Health - Video - March 14th, 2015
- Feel Like You are 25 Again,Low Testosterone, Testosterone solution - Video - March 5th, 2015
- Antares Announces Positive Pharmacokinetic Results From QuickShot Phase 3 Study - February 25th, 2015
- Low Testosterone anxiety - Men's Health - MedHelp - February 23rd, 2015
- low libido High Testosterone - Urology - MedHelp - February 23rd, 2015
- Low Testosterone Therapy | Men's Health - February 23rd, 2015
- Valentine's Day is an important day for men's health - Video - February 18th, 2015
- Treatments for Low Testosterone from Harrison's Principles of Internal Medicine, 19th Edition - Video - February 15th, 2015
- Testosterone treatment soars, but is it the answer? - Video - February 15th, 2015
- Why is Low Testosterone so Common - Video - February 12th, 2015
- 7 ways hormones improve your quality of life - February 5th, 2015
- Low T | How To Increase Testosterone Naturally - February 1st, 2015
- Low Testosterone Symptoms | eHow - eHow | How to ... - January 31st, 2015
- Low Testosterone | Symptoms, Causes, Treatments - January 30th, 2015
- Analysis Rejects Linkage Between Testosterone Therapy And Cardiovascular Risk - January 28th, 2015
- Bodybuilding supplement - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia - January 11th, 2015
- Strategy Might Thwart Resistance to a Common Prostate Cancer Treatment - January 10th, 2015
- Low Testosterone Treatment for Men Insurance Accepted ... - December 29th, 2014
- What is Testosterone? | Boston Medical Group - December 29th, 2014
- Renew Male Review: Fix Low Testosterone With Natural Booster - Video - December 22nd, 2014
- Symptoms of A Low Testosterone Level How To Know Quickly - Video - December 22nd, 2014
- The Link Between Low Testosterone and Heart Disease - December 17th, 2014
- The ONE Hormone That Makes You FAT and Kills Your SEX Drive - Video - December 12th, 2014
- Manhood down the drain, everyday products could be wiping out your testosterone - November 27th, 2014
- How To Get Rid Of Low Testosterone Using Home Remedies? - Video - November 26th, 2014
- Low Testosterone? Boost it Naturally! - Video - November 22nd, 2014
- Is Low Testosterone Dangerous to Your Health? - November 19th, 2014
- diabetes - Video - November 18th, 2014
- Gladstone Barret -Low Testosterone Levels - Video - November 17th, 2014
- Healthy Living Series on Low Testosterone - Video - November 15th, 2014
- Low Testosterone | Men's Health Doctor | Dr George Forgan-Smith - Video - October 26th, 2014
- ASK UNMC! What treatments are available for low testosterone and are they safe? - Video - October 23rd, 2014
Word Count: 547