Men with high testosterone 'have lower heart disease risk in later life'

Ted_Hutchinson · � #1 � 10-05-2011, 11:48 AM

Quote:

Elderly men with naturally higher levels of testosterone may be less likely to suffer a heart attack or stroke than their peers, researchers say.
A study of men in their 70s and 80s found the quarter of the group who had the highest levels of testosterone were 30 per cent less likely to have heart disease or stroke than the other.
Study leader Ana Tivesten, at Sahlgrenska University Hospital in Goteborg, Sweden, said: 'What we can say is that elderly men with high testosterone levels are relatively protected against cardiovascular events, and therefore lower testosterone is a marker for increased cardiovascular risk.'
The team analysed results from 2,400 Swedish men for the study published in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology.
They accounted for health factors known to lower testosterone, such as obesity and heart disease.
However, the results do not conclusively prove that the hormone itself deserves the credit.
JoAnn Manson, from Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston, who was not involved in the study, said: 'Low testosterone may be a marker of other health conditions that put men at higher risk of cardiovascular disease.'
Potential reasons for why higher natural testosterone levels may be good for the heart include the fact that higher testosterone generally means less body fat and more lean muscle.
What’s needed, she added, is evidence from clinical trials that actually test whether testosterone replacement in older men cuts the risk of heart disease and stroke.
Those trials are ongoing and so far, she noted, the results are mixed on whether testosterone replacement improves “intermediate” outcomes like cholesterol or blood sugar levels.

No one yet knows if it affects the ultimate outcomes of cardiovascular disease and lifespan.
'There are many unanswered questions, and I don’t think this means that men should be trying to boost their testosterone with testosterone replacement therapy,' she said.
The experience with hormone replacement therapy (HRT) in women offers a cautionary tale.
Before 2002, many women used HRT in the hopes of warding off heart disease and osteoporosis.
Then a large U.S. clinical trial found that women given pills containing estrogen and progesterone actually had higher risks of blood clots, heart attack, stroke and breast cancer than women given placebo pills.
Now HRT is largely used only for treating severe hot flashes - and then, only at the lowest dose and for the shortest time possible.
'So there are concerns about the risks in men,' Manson said.
Among those are the potential for testosterone to contribute to blood clots, liver damage or prostate cancer.
'This is a study of endogenous (natural) hormone production. It does not provide information about what is happening when hormones are given as a therapy,' Tiveston said.

Ted_Hutchinson · � #2 � 10-05-2011, 11:58 AM

I thought this was interesting and added the following comment which has not been accepted/printed.
Men will be interested to learn of the Effect of vitamin D supplementation on testosterone levels in men as this suggests that vitamin D supplementation might increase testosterone levels.

It's not the only paper with that idea, Association of vitamin D status with serum androgen levels in men makes the point that Men with sufficient 25(OH)D levels (> or =30 microg/l) had significantly higher levels of testosterone and FAI and significantly lower levels of SHBG when compared to 25(OH)D insufficient (20-29.9 microg/l) and 25(OH)D-deficient (<20 microg/l) men (P < 0.05 for all)

We also know from Vitamin D intake and risk of cardiovascular disease in US men and women that a higher intake of vitamin D is associated with a lower risk of CVD in men but not in women.

But both sexes should be aware that it isn't just in the testosterone stakes that vitamin d is helpful, Raising vitamin d levels also reduces your risk of seasonal colds and flu.

��Useful Links

Site Navigation