Research

Hormonal

Low serum testosterone levels (defined as <8.7 nmol/L or <250 ng/dL) are associated with a significantly increased risk of all-cause, cardiovascular, and cancer mortality in men aged 20-79, independent of age, waist circumference, smoking, alcohol use, physical activity, and renal function.

For men aged 20-79, having serum testosterone below 8.7 nmol/L (250 ng/dL) is a significant predictor of higher all-cause, cardiovascular, and cancer mortality risk, independent of lifestyle factors like smoking or exercise. This association holds even after adjusting for age, waist circumference, and kidney function. While testosterone itself may not be the direct cause of death, it serves as a critical biomarker for underlying health risks, particularly in older men (60-79 years).

GoodSupportsHIGH confidence
Men with low serum testosterone levels had a significantly higher mortality from all causes than men with higher serum testosterone levels (HR 2.24; 95% CI 1.41–3.57)... low serum testosterone levels continued to be associated with increased mortality (HR 2.32; 95% CI 1.38–3.89)... low serum testosterone levels predicted increased risk of death from cardiovascular disease (CVD) (HR 2.56; 95% CI 1.15–6.52) and cancer (HR 3.46; 95% CI 1.68–6.68)
Robin Haring et al. · European Heart Journal · 2010

Why this rating

Large population-based prospective cohort (n=1954) with long follow-up (7.2 years) and rigorous adjustment for confounders, though observational design limits causal inference.

Source

Low serum testosterone levels are associated with increased risk of mortality in a population-based cohort of men aged 20-79

Robin Haring et al. · European Heart Journal · 2010

DOI 10.1093/eurheartj/ehq009

cohort · n=1954Cited 307×
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DOI resolved against Crossref · corpus check 2026-06-10

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