Testosterone treatment linked to lower kidney failure hazard in men with diabetes and hypogonadism
An observational study linked testosterone treatment to kidney and cardiovascular outcomes without establishing that treatment caused the differences.
Based on the published abstract. The full paper may contain additional methods, results and limitations.
The 30-second takeaway
Men with diabetes and hypogonadism who received testosterone had lower recorded hazards of acute kidney injury and kidney failure needing dialysis or transplantation than matched untreated men. Associations also favored treatment for heart attack, ischemic stroke, atrial fibrillation and death from any cause. These observational findings do not establish that testosterone prevented any of these outcomes.
Matching cannot rule out remaining differences between groups. This abstract-based summary also lacks absolute event rates and details of treatment regimens.
What researchers found
Kidney failure needing dialysis or transplantation
The estimated event rate at a given time was lower: 0.81 times that in matched untreated men, over mean follow-up of 3.3 years.
How the comparison worked
Researchers identified men in a health research network and matched treated participants with untreated participants using propensity scores. They then compared the timing of kidney outcomes, cardiovascular events and deaths during follow-up.
What the ratio means
The hazard ratio describes the relative rate of kidney failure at a given time during follow-up. It does not show how many men avoided the outcome or prove a treatment benefit.
The original publication
Testosterone therapy is associated with reduced risk of acute kidney injury, kidney failure with renal replacement therapy, and cardiovascular events in men with diabetes and hypogonadism.
Bonnet F, Vaduva P, Halimi JM et al.
Cardiovasc Diabetol · 2025
- PubMed ID
- 41035033
- Record checked
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