Testosterone prescription history was associated with a higher cardiovascular event hazard
A Scottish health-record study found an association after adjustment, but its observational design cannot determine whether testosterone caused the difference.
Based on the published abstract. The full paper may contain additional methods, results and limitations.
The 30-second takeaway
Men whose prescription records met the study's testosterone-exposure definition had a higher adjusted hazard of a first major cardiovascular event than men classified as unexposed. This association in routinely collected records does not prove that testosterone caused the events. The abstract provides no absolute event risks for judging the size of the difference.
The abstract does not detail the unexposed classification or establish continuous medication use. Its observational comparisons cannot rule out other group differences despite adjustment.
What researchers found
Adjusted hazard ratio for a first major cardiovascular event
Testosterone-exposed versus unexposed men during 2017–2022; 95% CI 1.19–2.01.
What counted as an event
The outcome combined heart attack, unstable angina, stroke, heart failure and cardiovascular death. The hazard ratio compares event rates at a given time among men still free of the outcome during follow-up; it does not give an absolute probability.
How exposure was defined
Exposure required at least a 2-year gap between first and last prescriptions during 2012–2016. Researchers adjusted for age, ethnicity, deprivation and other illnesses, but treatment was not randomly assigned.
The original publication
Association Between Long-Term Testosterone Exposure and Major Adverse Cardiovascular Events in Aging Men.
Connelly PJ, Owusu Achiaw S, Friday JM et al.
J Endocr Soc · 2025
- PubMed ID
- 41163812
- Record checked
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