And here's the full text of the study (no membership required):
http://archinte.ama-assn.org/cgi/conten ... 66/15/1660
Actually, this is the same study posted by N3RF a few weeks earlier, and wich already has been discussed at some length here
http://www.eunuch.org/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=9413
I've briefly skimmed through the full text version and had a look at abstracts of some of the external studies quoted. At the moment, I see two main problems with this particular study:
1. The way hormone tests were carried out. The authors were satisfied with a mere dual sample over a period of "at least one week and two years", and did not take into account whether some of their subjects could have been on HRT. Basically, that's just two tests per veteran for the whole period. A hardly reliable approach, especially considering that there is an estimated chance of about 30% that a single testosterone sample showing low levels may turn "normal" in a repeated sample a while later, and that a low total t could be accompained by a high free t, and vice versa. Obviously, the authors did not bother measuring other gonadal hormones of importance (DHT, estradiol, progesterone & vs ratios, etc.)
2. There was a total lack of systematic assessment of a prospective cohort.
A matter of suspicion and controversy arise from the financial discloser of the study: Both authors recieved grants and served as consultants to the Solvay Pharmaceuticals Inc wich, among other things, distribute HRT patches and related products:
http://66.249.93.104/search?q=cache:n97 ... armaceutic als-us.com/newsroom/pressreleases/0,,14585-2-0,00.htm+Solvay+Pharmaceuticals+Inc+hrt&hl=en&ct=clnk&cd=1
I would like to undertake a much closer review of this interesting issue as soon as time permits (being busy just at the moment).