Endocrine Abstracts

Introduction: Klinefelter syndrome (KS) is the most common sex-chromosome disorder with a prevalence of 1 in every 660 men, but only 25% of the expected number of patients are diagnosed. It is also one of the most common endocrine disorders, and takes the third place after diabetes mellitus and thyroid gland diseases. KS is one of the most frequent causes of hypogonadism in men. It is known that hypogonadism in men has been found to be an independent risk factor for development of abdominal obesity and metabolic syndrome (MS).

Objective: To study the prevalence of MS in men with KS.

Materials and methods: Twenty-six men (16–37 years old) with KS (karyotype 47,XXY) diagnosed in the age of 15–37 years were examined for presence of MS (IDF criteria).

Results: Ten from 26 patients with KS (38.5%) had MS (IDF criteria). Moreover, 8 from this 10 patients with MS (80%) were late-diagnosed (diagnosis of KS was determined after 24 years old).

Conclusion: MS is frequent in men with KS and associated with late diagnosis of this syndrome and late beginning of testosterone-replacement therapy. According to the high prevalence and poor diagnosis of this disorder these patients often remain without timely treatment.