Testosterone and risk factors for cardiovascular disease in men.

Diabete Metab. 1995 Jun;21(3):156-61.

Testosterone and risk factors for cardiovascular disease in men.

Barrett-Connor EL.

Department of Family and Preventive Medicine, University of California, San
Diego, La Jolla 92093-0607, USA.

It has been assumed for years that male testosterone levels play a central role
in worsening lipoprotein patterns and causing greater susceptibility to ischemic
heart disease. Yet most clinical trials of quasi-physiologic doses of
intramuscular testosterone in older men show no effect on high-density
lipoprotein (HDL)-cholesterol, while cross-sectional epidemiologic studies almost
uniformly find that endogenous testosterone levels are positively associated with
HDL-cholesterol levels. Further work is required to determine whether and why
physiologic testosterone levels in the high normal range appear to be conducive
to optimal cardiovascular health for adult men.