title: Testosterone therapy and mortality risk.
abstract: Recent data suggest an increased risk of cardiovascular events and mortality in men on testosterone therapy (TT). To date, there are no long-term, prospective studies to determine safety. In such cases, retrospective observational studies can be helpful. We examined our patient database to determine whether TT altered the risk of all-cause mortality in men. We queried our hormone database for all men with a serum testosterone level and then examined charts to determine testosterone status. In all, 509 men had charts available for review. We linked our patient records to the National Death Index to determine mortality. Of the 509 men who met inclusion criteria, 284 were on TT and 225 did not use testosterone. Age (mean 54 years) and follow-up time (mean 10 years) were similar for both groups. In all, 19 men died--10 (4.4%) men not on TT and 9 (3.2%) men on TT. After adjusting for age and year of evaluation, there was no significant difference in the risk of death based on TT (hazard ratio 0.92, 95% confidence interval 0.36-2.35, P=1.0). There appears to be no change in mortality risk overall for men utilizing long-term testosterone therapy.
authors: Departments of Urology and Obstetrics/Gynecology, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA, USA.
authors: M L
authors: ML
authors: Eisenberg
authors: Departments of Urology and Dermatology, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA, USA.
authors: S
authors: S
authors: Li
authors: Scott Department of Urology, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, USA.
authors: D
authors: D
authors: Herder
authors: Scott Department of Urology, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, USA.
authors: D J
authors: DJ
authors: Lamb
authors: Scott Department of Urology, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, USA.
authors: L I
authors: LI
authors: Lipshultz
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D015331:Cohort Studies; D006801:Humans; D007006:Hypogonadism / Q000188:drug therapy*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009026:Mortality; D012307:Risk Factors; D013739:Testosterone / Q000009:adverse effects* / Q000097:blood / Q000627:therapeutic use; D016896:Treatment Outcome
chemical_list: D013739:Testosterone