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05:53
Measuring Frailty in HIV-infected Individuals. Identification of Frail Patients is the First Step to Amelioration and Reversal of Frailty
Published on: July 24, 2013
Low Serum Testosterone Concentrations Predict Incident Frailty in Men with HIV.
Jenny Pena Dias1, Kathryn C Fitzgerald2,3, Eric Seaberg3
1Department of Medicine, School of Medicine, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, USA.
The Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism
|June 26, 2026
Summary
Low testosterone levels predict increased frailty risk in men with HIV. Assessing androgen status can help identify individuals needing intervention for frailty prevention.
Area of Science:
- Gerontology
- Endocrinology
- Infectious Diseases
Background:
- Older men with HIV exhibit higher frailty rates than their HIV-negative counterparts.
- Testosterone deficiency is a potential contributor to frailty in this population, impacting muscle mass and physical function.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the association between free testosterone, total testosterone, and sex hormone-binding globulin (SHBG) with the development of frailty in men with HIV.
Main Methods:
- A prospective cohort study involving 306 non-frail men with HIV from the MACS/WIHS Combined Cohort Study.
- Frailty was assessed using the Fried frailty phenotype over a mean follow-up of 9.0 years.
- Marginal structural models were employed to analyze the relationship between hormone levels and frailty outcomes.
Main Results:
- Low free testosterone (<54 pg/mL) and low total testosterone (<300 ng/dL) were significantly associated with a higher risk of incident frailty.
- Specifically, low free T showed a hazard ratio of 2.49 (95% CI: 1.21-5.11) and low total T showed a hazard ratio of 3.31 (95% CI: 1.26-8.68).
- Sex hormone-binding globulin (SHBG) concentrations did not show consistent associations with frailty outcomes.
Conclusions:
- Diminished testosterone levels are predictive of incident frailty in men living with HIV.
- Evaluating androgen status may aid in identifying men at elevated risk for frailty.
- Further research is recommended to explore the potential benefits of testosterone therapy in preventing frailty.
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