A recent study presented at the Endocrine Society Annual meeting suggested that males over 50 with low testosterone had a 33% greater risk of all-cause mortality than those who had higher levels of testerone. Low testosterone was identified as the lower-limit found in healthy young males.
The study followed 800 men for 18 years on average, a large sample size for a very long period of time. The low testosterone group had the following characteristics:
- higher levels of inflammation markers, which contribute to several forms of cardiovascular disease
- larger waist measurement (greater than 40 inches)
- metabolic syndrome – low HDL cholesterol, high triglycerides, high blood sugars and hypertension.
Over the 18-year period, men in the low-testosterone group had a 33% greater risk from all-cause mortality than the normal / high testosterone group. This is a stout finding given the characteristics of the study, indicating that even if problems exist in methodology the results are likely portable in more controlled studies.
So what does this mean for you? If you are male, over 50 and taking prescription medication for hypertension, high cholesterol, diabetes and have a waist over 40 inches, get your testosterone levels checked. If you aren’t taking medication for anything listed above but have any of the symptoms below, get them checked too. Preferably by an MD trained in Natural Hormone Replacement Therapy. The synthetic hormones cranked out by big pharma just don’t seem to work as well.
Other symptoms of low testosterone include:
- reduced quality of sleep
- easier to lose your temper
- lack of drive
- reduced sex drive
- significant decrease in muscle mass
- significant increase in body fat
The symptoms above can happen from time-to-time but persistent appearances indicate something beyond the natural aging process.
If you notice these symptoms, the best thing you can do is, again, have your testosterone levels checked, start an exercise program and modify your diet.
Related posts:
Does Testosterone Therapy cause Prostate Cancer?
The answer is NO acording to Dr. Rhoden. In January 2004 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine, he reviewed 72 medical studies and found no evidence that testosterone therapy causes prostate cancer.
A link to the Rhoden article can be found at this page:
Low Testosterone Diagnosis and Treatment
Jeffrey Dach MD
Posted by Jeffrey Dach MD on June 14th, 2007.
Very informative! Thank you much!
Posted by gary - men have menopause too on August 17th, 2010.