Low Testosterone=early death?

[Tclosetgirl (imported)]

Interesting article.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20071023/hl_ ... sterone_dc

[plix (imported)]

The same difficulty in determining which is the cause and which is the effect applies. Could be that certain health problems that are actually the cause of death lower T levels. There has to be a natural reason, I would say, to why hormones lower dramatically in women with age and even somewhat in men.

[kristoff]

Text of the cited link. NOTE: Please ALWAYS post text of such links. I often don't have time to graft in text, and often toss these posts because the links go stale.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20071023/hl_ ... sterone_dc

Low testosterone in men linked to earlier death

By Amy Norton

Tue Oct 23, 3:53 PM ET

Older men with low levels of the hormone testosterone may die sooner than other men their age with normal testosterone levels, a study suggests.

Researchers found that among 794 generally healthy older men, those with the lowest testosterone levels were 40 percent more likely to die within the 1985-2004 study period.

The findings do not mean, however, that older men should start taking testosterone supplements to achieve a longer life, the study authors are quick to point out.

The study shows only an association between low testosterone and earlier death -- not a cause-and-effect relationship, lead author Dr. Gail A. Laughlin told Reuters Health. What's more, there was no evidence that having above-average testosterone levels gave men any longevity advantage.

"We cannot recommend that any man take testosterone based on these results," Laughlin stressed.

She and her colleagues at the University of California, San Diego, report their findings in the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism.

In theory, low testosterone could affect older men's longevity through metabolic effects. Some past studies have found that low testosterone can precede the development of abdominal obesity and the metabolic syndrome -- a collection of risk factors for diabetes and heart disease that includes obesity, high blood pressure and unhealthy cholesterol levels.

In their study, Laughlin and her colleagues found that low testosterone was associated with abdominal obesity and aspects of the metabolic syndrome, but when these factors were excluded, low testosterone remained independently linked to earlier death.

The study included 794 men between 50 and 91 year old (average age 73.6 years) who were followed for an average of 11.6 years. Overall, the one quarter with the lowest testosterone levels at study entry were 40 percent more likely to die over the course of the study than men with higher levels of the hormone.

There is some disagreement among experts on how to define overt testosterone deficiency, with some saying it should be diagnosed when levels fall below 300 nanograms per deciliter (ng/dL) and others advocating lower cutoffs.

There was no evidence in this study that raising older men's testosterone above 300 ng/dL might boost survival, according to Laughlin's team.

This finding offers "no support for widespread testosterone therapy for aging men," the researchers write.

Indeed, it's unclear whether raising testosterone in men with a clear deficiency can safely prolong life. Only clinical trials that test hormonal supplementation against a placebo can answer this question, Laughlin said.

SOURCE: Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism, October 2007.

[Eunuchist (imported)]

I wonder why does this particular study (by Dr. Laughlin) keeps popping up in the news? Apparently it was first mentioned on the BBC some two and a half months ago, and it's still making news on Yahoo.

It is, in fact, one and same study (based on a group of California veterans) already discussed in two separate EA threads:

http://www.eunuch.org/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=11215

http://www.eunuch.org/vbulletin/showthread.php?p=81083

[JesusA (imported)]

This one is old news (even though this journalistic article has just been published). Prof. Laughlin and I have already been in communication about the external factors that could be causing both the low T AND the early death. Nothing conclusive to post here yet, but she's aware of the possibility and will be looking at the data again. A couple of my relatives are in the Rancho Cucamonga sample on which here work is based.

Dr. Laughlin has promised to send me here comments on the first two articles that Richard Wassersug and I have published on voluntary eunuchs. I will (with her permission) post anything of interest from them here, as well.

[Batman (imported)]

I've seen that before. In my case I had low T for who knows how long. It was first tested in 2000 but after a short stint on Andorgel I had to go off it due to it's making my testicles stop producing sperm. They came back in 3 months no problem.

However I suffer disabling back problems due to multiple hernitions and leakage of all 5 lumbar disks. When I first saw my current Endo 2 1/2 years ago she asked if I ever had a bone density scan. Up til then no one had suggested it including my Pain Specialist. Turns out I have Osteopenia in my spinal column.

I'm now convinced the low T led to the Osteo which led to the disk compressions and resulting problems.

I started taking osteperosis meds 2 years ago along with calcium supplements. I finally got on T this year. So far so good, the bones are up 7% in the back from 2 years ago and the T should help that more.

God this turned into a long post...:-\

[devi (imported)]

Only problem with the study is that 52% of the overall population (men and women) have low teststerone levels. However it is the 52% with low testoterone levels that live longer. Also people with very high testosterone tend to do some of the stupidest things that could jeapordize their life.