Testosterone Attenuates Age-Related Fall in Aerobic Function in Mobility Limited Older Men With Low Testosterone

Testosterone increases skeletal muscle mass and strength, but the effects of testosterone on aerobic performance in mobility-limited older men have not been evaluated.

To determine the effects of testosterone supplementation on aerobic performance, assessed as peak oxygen uptake (V̇O2peak) and gas exchange lactate threshold (V̇O2θ), during symptom-limited incremental cycle ergometer exercise.

Subgroup analysis of the Testosterone in Older Men with Mobility Limitations Trial.

Exercise physiology laboratory in an academic medical center.

Sixty-four mobility-limited men 65 years or older with low total (100-350 ng/dL) or free (<50 pg/dL) testosterone.

Participants were randomized to receive 100-mg testosterone gel or placebo gel daily for 6 months.

V̇O2peak and V̇O2θ from a symptom-limited cycle exercise test.

Mean (SD) baseline V̇O2peak was 20.5 (4.3) and 19.9 (4.7) mL/kg/min for testosterone and placebo, respectively. V̇O2peak increased by 0.83 (2.4) mL/kg/min in testosterone but decreased by -0.89 (2.5) mL/kg/min in placebo (P = .035); between group difference in change in V̇O2peak was significant (P = .006). This 6-month reduction in placebo was greater than the expected -0.4-mL/kg/min/y rate of decline in the general population. V̇O2θ did not change significantly in testosterone but decreased by 1.1 (1.8) mL/kg/min in placebo, P = .011 for between-group comparisons. Hemoglobin increased by 1.0 ± 3.5 and 0.1 ± 0.8 g/dL in testosterone and placebo groups, respectively.

Testosterone supplementation in mobility-limited older men increased hemoglobin and attenuated the age-related declines in V̇O2peak and V̇O2θ. Long-term intervention studies are needed to determine the durability of this effect.