Age of study population and year of publication modified the relationship between testosterone and CVD .
Results were largely confirmed by separate analyses of free- and bioavailable testosterone .
The systematic review displayed no association between endogenous testosterone and risk for CVD in middle-aged men .
In elderly men , testosterone may weakly protect against CVD .
Alternatively , low testosterone may indicate a poor general health
CONTEXT The literature provides no clear answer as to whether low endogenous testosterone increases risk of cardiovascular disease ( CVD ) in healthy men .
OBJECTIVE Our purpose was to estimate the predictive value of testosterone for CVD and to identify study features explaining conflicting results .
Serum sex hormone levels and myocardial infarction in the Honolulu Heart Program. Pitfalls in prospective studies on sex hormones.
It has been hypothesized that hyperestrogenemia may underlie myocardial infa rct ion . As a test of this hypothesis , the serum estradiol and testosterone levels were estimated in sample s collected prospect ively from 96 male patients aged 52 - 74 years [ mean age 60.8 + /- 6.3 ( SD ) ] who had had a myocardial infa rct ion and from 96 matched control subjects in the Honolulu Heart Program . Established risk factors for myocardial infa rct ion were measured prospect ively . No significant difference between patients and control subjects in mean estradiol or testosterone level was observed . The only established risk factor that was significantly different was blood pressure , which was higher in the patients . Thus , the data did not confirm the hypothesis . However , two major pitfalls for prospect i ve studies of estradiol in myocardial infa rct ion , which might have affected the validity of the results , were observed , namely , deterioration of estradiol values with prolonged storage ( 8.5 - 12 years in this study ) and intervention . The value of this study , therefore , may lie in pointing out difficulties in carrying out prospect i ve studies on sex hormones
Age of study population and year of publication modified the relationship between testosterone and CVD .
Results were largely confirmed by separate analyses of free- and bioavailable testosterone .
The systematic review displayed no association between endogenous testosterone and risk for CVD in middle-aged men .
In elderly men , testosterone may weakly protect against CVD .
Alternatively , low testosterone may indicate a poor general health
CONTEXT The literature provides no clear answer as to whether low endogenous testosterone increases risk of cardiovascular disease ( CVD ) in healthy men .
OBJECTIVE Our purpose was to estimate the predictive value of testosterone for CVD and to identify study features explaining conflicting results .