Research
Hormonal
ADT causes unfavorable body composition changes, specifically increasing fat mass (particularly visceral/subcutaneous) and decreasing lean body mass, which correlates with rising insulin levels.
Expect to gain fat and lose muscle on ADT. This is not just cosmetic; the fat gain, especially around the abdomen, drives insulin resistance. Focus on resistance training and protein intake to mitigate muscle loss, and cardiovascular exercise to manage fat gain.
GoodSupportsHIGH confidence
These studies demonstrate that ADT results in an unfavorable body composition. The increase in fat mass on ADT correlates positively with rising insulin levels.
Why this rating
Consistent findings across multiple prospective and cross-sectional studies.
Source
Androgen Deprivation Therapy in Prostate Cancer and Metabolic Risk for Atherosclerosis
Sadeka Shahani et al. · The Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism · 2008
DOI 10.1210/jc.2007-2595
narrative_reviewCited 186×
Read the paper DOI resolved against Crossref · corpus check 2026-06-10
More from this paper
- Androgen deprivation therapy (ADT) for prostate cancer causes significant metabolic complications, including insulin resistance, hyperglycemia, and metabolic syndrome, which accelerate cardiovascular mortality.Good
- Short-term ADT (3-6 months) induces insulin resistance and hyperinsulinemia while maintaining normal fasting glucose levels, whereas long-term ADT (12+ months) leads to frank hyperglycemia and diabetes.Good
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