A new study conducted by Veterans Affairs researchers suggests that men who regularly receive treatment for low levels of testosterone are less likely to suffer from stroke, heart attack and even death from any cause compared to those who do not undergo such procedure.
Cardiologist Dr. Rajat Barua and his colleagues at the Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Kansas City examined data collected from 83,000 male veterans who underwent various treatments, such as through injections, patches and gels, to restore their testosterone levels to normal.
The subjects of the study were all 50 years old and had received treatment in VA facilities from 1999 to 2014.
The VA researchers then divided the participants into three clinical groups. The men who received treatment until the testosterone levels reached normal were placed in Group 1; those who received treatment but did not reach normal levels were placed in Group 2; and those who did not receive treatment and remained at low testosterone levels were placed in Group 3.
All participants in the three study groups were matched based on propensity to make sure that the comparisons were equal between males with similar profiles of health.
Barua and his team took into consideration several factors that could affect the overall risk and cardiovascular state, such as the age of the participants, their body mass index (BMI), levels of LDL cholesterol, chronic illnesses, as well as their use of statins, beta blockers and aspirin.
The average period of follow-up across the study groups varied between 4.6 and 6.2 years.
The most significant contrast was observed between members of Group 1 (those who received treatment and achieved normal testosterone levels) and members of Group 3 (those who were left untreated and had low testosterone).
Treated participants were found to be 56 percent less susceptible to death during the period of follow-up, 36 percent less susceptible to suffering a stroke and 24 percent less susceptible to experience a heart attack.
While the differences between participants in Group 1 and those in Group 2 (those who were treatment but did not achieve normal levels of testosterone) were similar to that of Group 1 and Group 3, they were not as pronounced.
The researchers observed a slight improvement in survival rates among those members of Group 2 compared to those of Group 3 who did not receive treatment.
Despite the findings, Barua and his team noted that they have yet to determine the reasons testosterone treatments benefit the heart of patients and their overall survivability. They said that the mechanisms involved in these effects continue to be speculative.
The VA researchers said that some of the possible explanations for this occurrence include the amount of fat in the body, sensitivity to insulin, inflammation, blood platelets, lipids and other potential biological pathways.
The Veterans Affairs Medical Center stud is published in the European Heart Journal.
Photo: Pedro Ribeiro Simões | Flickr
