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Men who have both heart disease and a low level of testosterone are more likely to die early, researchers say.
A study shows a link between premature death and low levels of the hormone in men with coronary heart disease.
The researchers carrying out the study said testosterone replacement therapy should be tried on the men in the group, to see if it helps them.
Writing in the journal Heart, they said: “In patients with coronary disease, testosterone deficiency is common and impacts significantly negatively on survival. Prospective trials of testosterone replacement are needed to assess the effect of treatment on survival.”
More than 900 men took part in the study. All had coronary heart disease and 24% of those had testosterone deficiency.
The men had been referred to a specialist heart centre between 2000 and 2002, and were tracked for around the next seven years.
Over the course of the study, almost twice as many men with low testosterone died as those with normal levels.
Overall, about one in five (21%) of those with low testosterone died, compared with one in eight (12%) of those with normal levels.
The study took place at Royal Hallamshire Hospital in Sheffield.
Copyright Press Association 2010
