Testosterone is the predominant sex hormone in males and has been shown to affect muscle mass, bone density, and the cardiovascular system.1 Studies have shown that a patient’s testosterone level can affect their risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD), particularly in men who have testosterone levels outside of the normal range.1,2 Other studies have found that testosterone replacement therapy (TRT) is associated with increased CVD risk.3
To better understand how treating low testosterone with TRT might influence CVD risk, we studied 491,612 men aged 30 and older with a low testosterone level and no history of CVD. We compared their risk of being diagnosed with CVD based on whether they had received a prescription for TRT. We adjusted for type 2 diabetes, hypertension, hyperlipidemia, depression, smoking status, race, ethnicity, and BMI class, which are known factors for increased CVD risk.
We found that men with low testosterone prescribed TRT were 7.9% more likely to be diagnosed with CVD than men with low testosterone not on TRT, as shown in Figure 1. We also found that this risk increases with age.
