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Meta-Analysis
. 2014 Dec 11;9(12):e115033.
doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0115033. eCollection 2014.

Efficacy of continuous positive airway pressure on testosterone in men with obstructive sleep apnea: a meta-analysis

Xiao-Bin Zhang  1 , Xing-Tang Jiang  1 , Yan-Ping Du  1 , Ya-Ting Yuan  1 , Bo Chen  1
Affiliations
Meta-Analysis

Efficacy of continuous positive airway pressure on testosterone in men with obstructive sleep apnea: a meta-analysis

Xiao-Bin Zhang et al. PLoS One. .

Abstract

Objective: To evaluate the efficacy of continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) on serum testosterone in men with obstructive sleep apnea (OSA).

Methods: Two reviewers independently searched PubMed, Cochrane library, Embase and Web of Science before June 2014. Information on characteristics of subjects, study design, pre- and post-CPAP treatment of serum total testosterone, free testosterone and sexual hormone blinding protein (SHBG) was extracted for analysis.

Results: A total of 7 studies with 9 cohorts that included 232 men were pooled into meta-analysis. There was no change of total testosterone levels before and after CPAP treatment in OSA men (standardized mean difference (SMD) = -0.14, 95%CI: -0.63 to 0.34, z = 0.59, p = 0.558), even subdivided by CPAP therapeutic duration (>3 months). Meanwhile, no significant differences in free testosterone and SHBG were detected after CPAP treatment (SMD = 0.16, 95%CI: -0.09 to 0.40, z = 1.25, p = 0.211 and SMD = -0.58, 95%CI: -1.30 to 0.14, z = 1.59, p = 0.112, respectively).

Conclusion: CPAP has no influence on testosterone levels in men with OSA, further large-scale, well-design interventional investigation is needed.

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Conflict of interest statement

Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1. Study flow diagram.
Figure 2
Figure 2. Forest plot for the change in total testosterone before and after CPAP treatment.
Figure 3
Figure 3. Forest plot for the change in total testosterone between CPAP treatment group and control group in two RCTs.
Figure 4
Figure 4. Forest plot for the change in free testosterone before and after CPAP treatment.
Figure 5
Figure 5. Forest plot for the change in SHBG before and after CPAP treatment.
Figure 6
Figure 6. Publication bias.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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