Table 1.
Main characteristics of the randomized controlled trials included in the analysis
| Study | Control group (n) | Patients for each TRT formulation (n) | Event timing (week) | Age (year), mean±s.d. | Hematocrit (%), mean±s.d. | Total testosterone (ng ml−1), mean±s.d. | Symptoms of hypoandrogenism | E2 (pg ml−1), mean±s.d. | Klinefelter among cases (yes/no) | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
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| Transdermal | Injective | Oral | Case | Control | Case | Control | Baseline (case) | Baseline (control) | TRT (case) | Placebo (control) | Case | Control | Case | Control | ||||
| Barnouin et al.24 | Placebo (41) | 42 | 26 | 73.6±3.7 | 72.2±3.2 | 42.0±0.5 | 40.6±0.6 | 2.1±0.1 | 2.2±0.1 | 3.1±0.2 | 0.6±0.2 | Not mention | 61.5±4.3 | 54.2±4.8 | - | - | ||
| Behre et al.42 | Placebo (179) | 183 | 24 | 61.9±6.6 | 62.1±6.3 | - | - | 3.0±0.7 | 3.1±0.7 | 5.8±4.4 | 3.1±1.0 | Yes | - | - | No | No | ||
| Brock et al.40 | Placebo (275) | 283 | 36 | 54.7±10.6 | 55.9±11.4 | - | - | 2.0±0.7 | 2.0±0.7 | - | - | Yes | - | - | No | No | ||
| Brock et al.37 | Placebo (357) | 358 | - | - | 12 | 53.9±10.8 | 55.4±11.1 | - | - | 2.0±0.7 | 2.0±0.7 | - | - | Yes | - | - | ||
| Snyder et al.25 | Placebo (394) | 394 | - | - | 52 | ≥65a | ≥65a | - | - | <2.8b | <2.8b | - | - | Yes | - | - | No | No |
| Tan et al.43 | Placebo (58) | - | 56 | - | 48 | 53.8±6.9c | 53.1±8.3c | 43.1±3.4c | 43.4±2.9c | 2.6±0.6c | 2.6±0.5c | 6.9±1.7 | 3.2±1.0 | Yes | - | - | No | No |
| Srinivas-Shankar et al.44 | Placebo (132) | 130 | - | - | 24 | 73.7±5.7 | 73.9±6.4 | 44.0±3.0 | 42.0±4.0 | 3.2±0.9 | 3.1±0.9 | 5.3±2.7 | 3.1±1.0 | Not mention | - | - | No | No |
| Basaria et al.38 | Placebo (151) | 155 | - | - | 156 | 66.9±5.0 | 68.3±5.3 | 43.7±3.7 | 43.6±3.6 | 3.1±0.6 | 3.1±0.7 | 5.7±2.5 | 3.3±1.0 | Not mention | 21.8±14.9 | 18.5±10.0 | No | No |
| Hildreth et al.26 | Placebo (47) | 96 | - | - | 52 | 66.5±5.8 | 66.5±5.2 | 46.3±3.0 | 46.7±3.0 | 3.0±0.4 | 2.9±0.4 | 5.3±2.9 | 2.9±0.7 | Not mention | - | - | No | No |
| Ng Tang Fui et al.27 | Placebo (51) | - | 49 | - | 56 | 54.3 (47.3–59.8)d | 52.8 (47.6–60.1)d | 43.0±2.0 | 44.0±2.0 | 2.4±0.7 | 2.4±0.7 | 4.1e | 2.9e | Not mention | - | - | No | No |
| Basaria et al.28 | Placebo (103) | 106 | - | - | 24 | 74.0±6.0 | 74.0±5.0 | - | - | 2.5±0.6 | 2.4±0.7 | 5.7±4.0 | 2.9±1.6 | Not mention | - | - | No | No |
| Emmelot-Vonk et al.29 | Placebo (110) | - | - | 113 | 27 | 67.1±5.0 | 67.4±4.9 | 46.0±3.0 | 45.0±2.0 | 3.2±0.5 | 3.0±0.5 | - | - | Not mention | - | - | - | - |
| Aversa et al.30 | Placebo (10) | - | 40 | - | 52 | 58.0±10.0 | 57.0±8.0 | 43.0±3.5 | 44.0±3.0 | 2.4±0.7 | 2.6±0.5 | 4.1±0.4 | 0.1±0.4 | Yes | - | - | - | - |
| Ho et al.31 | Placebo (58) | - | 56 | - | 48 | 53.4±7.4 | 53.0±8.2 | - | - | 2.6±0.6 | 2.6±0.5 | 6.8e | 3.2e | Yes | - | - | - | - |
aMinimum. bMaximum. cMedian±s.d.. dMedian (IQR). eMean. E2: 17β-estradiol; TRT: testosterone replacement therapy; s.d.: standard deviation; -: not available