Low Testosterone Linked to Risk of Acute MI in Men With Diabetes
In men with type 2 diabetes, low testosterone predicted a 25% greater risk of acute myocardial infarction, although no correlation was discovered in men without diabetes.
Bledar Daka, MD, of the University of Gothenburg in Sweden, and colleagues, analyzed data from 538 men and 571 women (mean age 62) collected from 1993 to 1994.
The level of total testosterone was 13.5 mmol/L in men and 1.00 mmol?L in women at baseline. The rate of type 2 diabetes was 9.8% in men and 7.3% in women.
Over an average of 14 years of follow-up, the rate of AMI in men without diabetes was 14.2% and 20.8% in men with type 2 diabetes. The difference was significant between men and women without diabetes (14.2% versus 9.7%).
In men with type 2 diabetes, having a high total serum testosterone level was associated with lower risk of AMI. Risk was not affected in men without diabetes and women.
“Low concentrations of testosterone predicted AMI in diabetic men in this cohort independent of other risk factors. Whether testosterone replacement therapy could reduce the risk of AMI in men with T2DM remains to be investigated,” they concluded.
–Michael Potts
Reference
Daka B, Lindblad U, Larsson CA, Rosen T, et al. Low concentrations of testosterone predict acute myocardial infarction in men with type 2 diabetes mellitus [paper presented at the 49th Annual EASD Barcelona]