Research
Hormonal
Oral testosterone supplementation in elderly men with low-normal gonadal status leads to a significant decrease in High-Density Lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol levels.
Older men considering testosterone therapy should be aware that it may lower HDL ('good') cholesterol. Regular monitoring of lipid profiles is recommended to manage this potential side effect, even though other lipid markers like LDL and triglycerides may remain unchanged.
GoodSupportsHIGH confidence
There were no differences in either LDL cholesterol (p = .21) or triglyceride (p = .26) levels between the groups. At 12 months, plasma HDL levels decreased by 0.128 ± 0.03 (mean ± SD) mmol/L... in the testosterone... group... (p = .03).
Why this rating
Statistically significant result (p=.03) in a randomized controlled trial.
Source
Oral Testosterone Supplementation Increases Muscle and Decreases Fat Mass in Healthy Elderly Males With Low-Normal Gonadal Status
Gary Wittert et al. · The Journals of Gerontology Series A · 2003
DOI 10.1093/gerona/58.7.m618
rct · n=76Cited 346×
Read the paper DOI resolved against Crossref · corpus check 2026-06-10
More from this paper
- Oral testosterone supplementation (80 mg twice daily) increases lean body mass and decreases fat mass in healthy elderly men (aged 60+) with low-normal gonadal status over a 12-month period.Good
- Oral testosterone supplementation in elderly men with low-normal gonadal status leads to a significant increase in hematocrit levels.Good
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