Testosterone Therapy May Have Cardioprotective Benefits
Testosterone therapy does not increase a patient’s risk of heart attack or stroke, and may, in fact, have cardioprotective benefits, according to a large retrospective analysis.
This study comes in response to report published in JAMA in November of 2013, suggesting that testosterone therapy was associated with increased rates of mortality, myocardial infarction (MI), and stroke.
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Robert S. Tan, MD, MBA, of the Low T Institute in Dallas, Texas, and colleagues, reviewed data from 39,937 patients seen between 2009 and 2014 at 40 “low T centers” across the United States. Approximately 50% of these patients met criteria for treatment with testosterone therapy.
Using the health records of patients, as well as family interviews, researchers identified 4 nonfatal and 2 fatal heart attacks within the group treated with testosterone.
Forty-six patients experienced a heart attack before beginning testosterone therapy —none of which had any adverse cardiovascular events after therapy began.
Only 2 strokes occurred in the treated group.
Results were compared against the general population using Kaiser Permanente and Northern Manhattan Registry databases. Overall, rates of acute MI were in patients treated with testosterone were 7 times less than rates in the Kaiser data and rates of stroke in treated patients were 9 times less likely than rates in the Manhattan Registry.
This, the researchers said, suggests a cardioprotective effect with testosterone therapy.
They explained that differences in the mean testosterone levels between the new study and the JAMA study could account for the results. Participants in the JAMA study had mean testosterone levels of 333 ng/dL compared to 543 ng/dL in participants of the new study.
These findings were presented at the AACE 23rd Annual Scientific & Clinical Congress in Las Vegas.
– Michael Potts
Reference
Tan R, et al. Testosterone therapy is not associated with higher risk of myocardial infarction or stroke: the Low T experience. Abstract presented at the American College of Clinical Endocrinologists conference; Las Vegas, Nevada: May 13-15, 2014.