High Testosterone Associated with Lower Mortality

TUESDAY, Nov. 27 (HealthDay News) -- Men with higher concentrations of endogenous testosterone appear to enjoy lower risks of mortality from all causes, including cardiovascular disease and cancer, according to a report published online Nov. 26 in Circulation: Journal of the American Heart Association.

Kay-Tee Khaw, M.D., of the University of Cambridge School of Clinical Medicine in Cambridge, United Kingdom, and colleagues followed men who had been surveyed and examined between 1993 and 1997 as part of the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer in Norfolk study. In 2003, the investigators compared 825 deceased men who had been free of cardiovascular disease and cancer in the original study with a control group of 1,489 men who were still living. Their blood samples were retrieved from storage and assayed for total testosterone, dehydroepiandrosterone sulfate, and sex hormone binding globulin.

Men in the highest quartile of testosterone levels had an approximately 25 percent to 30 percent lower risk of total mortality compared with those in the lowest quartile. The magnitude of effect was similar for deaths due to cardiovascular causes and cancer, and was changed very little after adjustment for cardiovascular risk factors.

"We concur with the conclusions from recent reviews that although the data appear reassuring, definitive assessment of the long-term effects of testosterone replacement therapy on health will require large-scale controlled trials," the authors write.

Abstract
Full Text (subscription or payment may be required)