Mayo Clinic Health Manager
Get free personalized health guidance for you and your family.
Get Started
About our e-newsletters
- Free e-newsletters
- Mayo Clinic expertise
- We do not share your e-mail address
Housecall, our weekly general-interest e-newsletter, keeps you up to date on a wide variety of health topics with timely, reliable, practical information, recipes, blogs, questions and answers with Mayo Clinic experts and more. Our biweekly topic-specific e-newsletters also include blogs, questions and answers with Mayo Clinic experts, and other useful information that will help you manage your health.
Housecall Archives
Mayo Clinic Housecall
Stay up to date on the latest health information.
What you get
- Free weekly e-newsletter
- Mayo Clinic expertise
- Recipes, tools and other helpful information
- We do not share your e-mail address
Complications
By Mayo Clinic staffComplications of Klinefelter syndrome vary from person to person. Some complications can be prevented or treated with testosterone therapy. Complications can include:
- Delayed puberty
- Noticeable physical features such as limited facial and body hair, unusually long legs, lack of muscular development, and enlarged breast tissue (gynecomastia)
- Infertility — men with Klinefelter syndrome can rarely father children
- Weak bones (osteoporosis)
- Increased risk of venous ulcers, varicose veins and other problems with blood vessels
- Increased risk of certain health conditions that typically affect women, such as breast cancer
- Increased belly fat, which raises the risk of health problems, including diabetes and heart disease
- Learning or social development issues
A number of complications caused by Klinefelter syndrome are related to low testosterone (hypogonadism). Testosterone replacement therapy reduces the risk of certain health problems, especially when it's started at the beginning of puberty.
- Klinefelter syndrome. National Institutes of Health. http://www.nichd.nih.gov/health/topics/klinefelter_syndrome.cfm. Accessed Feb. 19, 2008.
- Klinefelter syndrome. Madison's Foundation. http://www.madisonsfoundation.org/index.php/component/option,com_mpower/diseaseID,195/. Accessed Feb. 19, 2008.
- Lanfranko F, et al. Klinefelter's syndrome. The Lancet. 2004;364(9430):273-283
- Bojesen A, et al. Klinefelter syndrome in clinical practice. Nature Clinical Practice Urology. 2007;4(4):192-193.
- Klinefelter syndrome. U.S. National Library of Medicine. http://ghr.nlm.nih.gov/condition=klinefeltersyndrome. Accessed Feb. 26, 2008.
- Klinefelter (XXY) syndrome. California Department of Developmental Services. http://www.ddhealthinfo.org/coursebuilder/?id=25. Accessed Feb. 19, 2008.
