Men with atherosclerotic stenosis of the carotid artery have lower testosterone levels compared with controls.
OBJECTIVE
There is evidence to suggest an inverse association between serum levels of testosterone and coronary heart disease. The aim of this study was to compare endogenous sex hormone levels of men with severe internal carotid artery (ICA) atherosclerosis with age-matched controls.


METHODS
Metabolic parameters and sex hormones were measured or calculated in 124 male patients undergoing carotid endarterectomy for high grade ICA stenosis and in 124 age-matched male controls. The presence or absence of atherosclerotic stenosis of ICA was determined by high resolution B-mode ultrasound.


RESULTS
The cases had statistically significant lower levels of total testosterone (TT) (medians: 3.8 microg/L versus 4.3 microg/L, P=0.005) and sex hormone binding globulin (SHBG) (means: 39.8+/-17.2 versus 54.3+/-34.3 nmol/L, P<0.001) compared to controls. Multivariate linear regression analysis, adjusted for all clinical and physiologic parameters, showed a significant inverse association between ICA stenosis and TT (b=-0.158, P=0.013) and SHBG (beta=-0.259, P<0.001).


CONCLUSIONS
This study provides evidence of a positive association between low serum androgen levels and severe ICA atherosclerosis in men. It suggests that higher, but physiological, levels of androgens could have a protective role in the development of atherosclerosis.
Debing
E
E
Department of Vascular Surgery, Universitair Ziekenhuis Brussel, Free University of Brussels, Brussels, Belgium. erik.debing@uzbrussel.be
Peeters
E
E
Duquet
W
W
Poppe
K
K
Velkeniers
B
B
Van Den Brande
P
P
D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D002340:Carotid Artery Diseases / Q000097:blood*; D002343:Carotid Artery, Internal / Q000473:pathology; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D006801:Humans; D016014:Linear Models; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D013739:Testosterone / Q000097:blood*
D013739:Testosterone