Hormonal
In elderly women (aged 55+), higher endogenous testosterone levels are associated with a higher risk of severe aortic atherosclerosis, although this association is largely explained by adverse cardiovascular risk factors.
For women over 55, high testosterone levels are not protective against heart disease and may actually correlate with higher risk, primarily because high testosterone is linked to other negative health markers like higher blood pressure or cholesterol. Women should focus on managing traditional cardiovascular risk factors rather than assuming higher testosterone is beneficial.
Women with levels of testosterone in the second and third tertile tended to have higher risks of presence of severe aortic atherosclerosis. Multivariate adjustment diluted the associations.
Why this rating
Same high-quality cohort design as N1, with robust multivariate adjustment showing the attenuation of the effect.
Source
Low Levels of Endogenous Androgens Increase the Risk of Atherosclerosis in Elderly Men: The Rotterdam Study
A. Elisabeth Hak et al. · The Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism · 2002
DOI 10.1210/jcem.87.8.8762
More from this paper
- In elderly men (aged 55+), higher endogenous levels of total and bioavailable testosterone are independently associated with a significantly lower risk of severe aortic atherosclerosis and slower progression of the disease.Good
- Endogenous levels of DHEAS (dehydroepiandrosterone sulfate) are not clearly associated with the presence of severe aortic atherosclerosis in either elderly men or women.Good
Related findings · Hormonal
- Initial treatment for type 2 diabetes should be a combination of metformin and either an SGLT-2 inhibitor or a GLP-1 receptor agonist to achieve cardiorenal protection, rather than monotherapy or older agents like sulfonylureas.Strong
- For patients with specific monogenic obesity syndromes (leptin deficiency, POMC/PCSK1/LEPR mutations), targeted pharmacotherapy (recombinant leptin or setmelanotide) is highly effective and should be prioritized, unlike in polygenic obesity.Strong
- Continued weekly administration of 2.4 mg subcutaneous semaglutide prevents weight regain and promotes further weight loss in adults with overweight or obesity, whereas switching to placebo results in significant weight regain.Strong
This is one finding among thousands. Every one is graded and traced to its source, so you can see what the evidence actually supports. Browse the research →