Scientists from the University of Aberdeen found that testosterone replacement therapy appears safe in the short-to-medium term to treat a condition caused by deficiency of the male sex hormone.
The findings suggest that men given testosterone are at no greater risk of heart attack, stroke, and other heart problems in the short-to-medium term.
The research is published in The Lancet Healthy Longevity and was conducted by Jemma Hudson et al.
Testosterone replacement therapy is the standard treatment for hypogonadism, which can cause sexual dysfunction, weakening of bones and muscles, and reduced quality of life.
Risk factors for the disease include aging (as testosterone levels decline with age), obesity (BMI of 30 kg/m2 or above), and diabetes.
Despite being widely used, the heart safety of testosterone treatment has until now remained unclear due to inconsistent findings.
In the study, the team reviewed 17 clinical studies published since 1992.
Among the 17 trials with individual patient data, 1,750 participants received testosterone and 1,681 were given a placebo. The average length of testosterone treatment was 9.5 months.
The team found there were 120/1,601 (7.5%) heart disease events in the testosterone group and 110/1,519 (7.2%) in the control group.
Patient age, smoking, or diabetes status did not affect cardiovascular risk. Similarly, there was no big difference in mortality rate between the testosterone group and the placebo group.
The researchers also found that testosterone strongly reduced serum total cholesterol, high-density lipoprotein (HDL), and triglycerides compared with placebo.
However, there were no differences in serum low-density lipoprotein (LDL), blood pressure, blood sugar, diabetes risk, and prostate problems between the testosterone and placebo groups.
These findings suggest that testosterone treatment within 12 months is safe for men and does not increase heart disease risk.
If you care about heart health, please read studies about diets that could help reverse heart failure without surgeries, and an avocado per week keeps your heart doctor away.
For more information about diabetes, please see recent studies about new drugs to treat diabetes, and metabolic syndrome, and results showing heavy cannabis use may decrease the incidence of diabetes.
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