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Higher levels of testosterone linked to lower stroke risk in older men
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Lower blood levels of testosterone or dihydrotestosterone appear to be independent predictors of stroke, but not myocardial infarction, among aging men, according to recent findings.
In the prospective study, researchers evaluated 3,690 men aged 70 to 89 years from the Health in Men Study (HIMS) to determine outcomes of fatal or non-fatal myocardial infarction (MI) and fatal or non-fatal stroke from hospital admission records. Blood samples were taken from wave 2 of HIMS, which occurred between 2001 and 2004. The samples were taken between 8:00 and 10:30 AM and were tested for plasma testosterone (T), dihydrotestosterone (DHT) and estradiol (E2) using liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectroscopy.
The researchers found that 344 participants experienced incident MI, 300 had strokes and 3,046 had neither event. Multivariate analyses adjusting for age and other factors revealed no association between T (HR=0.92; 95% CI, 0.66-1.28), DHT (HR=0.83; 95% CI, 0.59-1.15) or E2 (HR=0.84; 95% CI, 0.62-1.15). A correlation was found between higher T (P=.002) or DHT (P=.002) and decreased risk of stroke. However, no correlation was found between E2 and stroke (P=.123).
According to the researchers, these findings call for additional studies regarding the possibility of modifying T or DHT to reduce stroke risk.
“Additional studies are warranted to explore potential mechanisms underlying this relationship and to assess whether hormonal interventions would selectively modify stroke risk in the increasing population of aging men,” the researchers wrote.
Disclosure: The researchers report no relevant financial disclosures.
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