Testosterone
Inversely Associated With Atherosclerosis in Diabetic
Men
New evidence suggests that low concentrations
of testosterone are associated with an increased
risk of cardiovascular disease in men.
Dr. Michiaki Fukui, of Osaka General Hospital
of West Japan Railway Company, Japan, and colleagues
measured serum free and total testosterone concentrations
in 253 type 2 diabetic men, and determined carotid
intima-media thickness (IMT) and plaque score
(PS) ultrasonographically, as well as major cardiovascular
risk factors, in a subgroup of 154 patients.
Free testosterone concentration was inversely
correlated with IMT (p = 0.0103) and with PS (p
< 0.001). Patients with concentrations of free
testosterone less than 10 pg/mL had significantly
greater IMT (1.01 versus 0.91 mm, p = 0.038) and
PS (4.4 versus 2.4, p = 0.0003) than those with
higher testosterone levels. [
Also, serum free testosterone concentration inversely
correlated with age, as well as with age at onset
and duration of diabetes, Dr. Fukui and colleagues
report.
The investigators found that serum free testosterone
correlated with the severity of atherosclerosis
regardless of whether the patients had overt cardiovascular
disease or not. Diabetes Care 2003;26:1869-1873.
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