Relationships between endogenous and exogenous testosterone and cardiovascular disease in men

AbstractIn this narrative review, we discuss the evidence about the controversy about the cardiovascular effects of endogenous and exogenous testosterone in men. Prospective cohort studies with follow-up of  ~5–15 years generally indicate no association or a possible inverse relationship between serum endogenous testosterone concentrations and composite major cardiovascular events, cardiovascular deaths and overall mortality. Pharmacoepidemiological studies of large databases generally show no ass ociation between testosterone therapy and incident major cardiovascular events, and some pharmacoepidemiological studies demonstrate an association with decreased overall mortality. Randomized, placebo-controlled trials indicate that there is no increased incidence of overall major cardiovascular ev ents with 1–3 years of testosterone therapy. These placebo-controlled trials have major limitations including small numbers of participants, short duration of testosterone therapy and follow-up, and lack of systematic adjudication of cardiovascular events. Overall, the evidence indicates that end ogenous testosterone concentrations and testosterone therapy at physiological dosages confer no or minimal effects on the incidence of cardiovascular outcomes. There is insufficient evidence to make conclusions about testosterone therapy for patients at high risk of cardiovascular events (e.g., men with recent myocardial infarctions or stroke and men with recurrent idiopathic deep venous...
Source: Reviews in Endocrine and Metabolic Disorders - Category: Endocrinology Source Type: research