Prognostic Value of Follicle-Stimulating Hormone Levels in Predicting Survival in Men With Idiopathic Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension

The objective of the study was to assess the association between changes in plasma follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH) and the potential effect on idiopathic pulmonary arterial hypertension (IPAH) in male patients. A total of 116 male patients with IPAH and 53 healthy controls were included from XX Hospital. Plasma FSH concentration was assessed in all participants. Receiver operating characteristic curves were used to assess the mortality risk. Kaplan-Meier curve and Cox regression analyses were used to predict the value of FSH on the survival rate of male IPAH patients. The plasma FSH concentration in the IPAH group was significantly higher than that in the control group (p = .017). Nonsurvivors had significantly higher levels of FSH than survivors (p < .0001). FSH levels were positively correlated with World Health Organization Functional Class, mean pulmonary artery pressure, and pulmonary vascular resistance (PVR; p = .023, p < .0001, and p < .0001, respectively) and negatively correlated with 6-min walk distance (6MWD) and cardiac output (CO; p = .004 and p = .010). Cox regression model analysis showed that the levels of FSH were also the independent factors of mortality in male IPAH patients (p < .0001). The IPAH patients with higher FSH levels had higher PVR, lower 6MWD, CO, and a lower survival rate (p = .042, p = .003, p = .029, and p < .0001, respectively). Therefore, we identified that increased FSH levels were associated with disease severity in male patients with IPAH and independently predicted risk of disease and poor survival rate.