Research

Hormonal

Low testosterone in men with type 2 diabetes and obesity is associated with increased cardiovascular disease risk and erectile dysfunction, mediated by visceral adiposity and proinflammatory cytokines.

If you have type 2 diabetes and are obese, getting your testosterone checked is important. Low levels are linked to higher heart disease risk and sexual dysfunction. Treatment with testosterone replacement may help, but it must be done carefully with monitoring for side effects, especially in older men.

GoodSupportsHIGH confidence
Visceral adiposity present in men with low testosterone, the metabolic syndrome, and/or type 2 diabetes acts through proinflammatory factors. These inflammatory markers contribute to vascular endothelial dysfunction with adverse sequelae such as increased cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk and erectile dysfunction.
Christina Wang et al. · Diabetes Care · 2011

Why this rating

Based on multiple epidemiological studies, longitudinal data, and meta-analyses cited in the review.

Source

Low Testosterone Associated With Obesity and the Metabolic Syndrome Contributes to Sexual Dysfunction and Cardiovascular Disease Risk in Men With Type 2 Diabetes

Christina Wang et al. · Diabetes Care · 2011

DOI 10.2337/dc10-2339

narrative_reviewCited 365×
Read the paper
DOI resolved against Crossref · corpus check 2026-06-10

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