No Cardiovascular Risk Seen in Latest Testosterone Study

When used to normalize a man’s testosterone levels, testosterone supplementation can reduce the risk of myocardial infarction (MI), stroke, and all-cause mortality. A large new retrospective study of a Veterans Affairs (VA) population indicates “The risks [and] benefits depend on the profile of the patient rather than the therapy itself”. Principal Investigator Rajat Barua, MD, PhD, emphasized to Medscape Medical News. Dr Barua, an assistant professor of medicine at the University of Kansas School of Medicine, and his colleagues published their findings online August 6 in the European Heart Journal.

The results contradict other recent studies that have suggested increased cardiovascular risk from testosterone-replacement therapy. These spurred a warning from the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) earlier this year.

Research published in 2016 reports no increased risk with Testosterone Replacement Therapy

European Medicines Agency last year concluded that there is “no consistent evidence” of an increased risk for cardiovascular problems with testosterone products. Other research indicated that testosterone might have a protective effect against cardiovascular disease.

“Our study was born out of our own dilemma of what to say to our patients. There was conflicting news in the past few years,” Dr Barua said.

Look for Answers

In hopes of providing some answers, the study team retrospectively examined national data on 83,010 men with documented low testosterone. The men were all age 50 or above, who received care from the Veteran’s Administration between 1999 and 2014.

Read the article and details about the study here.

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