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Association of Testosterone Replacement With Cardiovascular Outcomes Among Men With Androgen Deficiency

Cheetham TC, An J, Jacobsen SJ, Niu F, Sidney S, Quesenberry CP, VanDenEeden SK

JAMA internal medicine, 2017

8,808 participants

Abstract

IMPORTANCE: Controversy exists regarding the safety of testosterone replacement therapy (TRT) following recent reports of an increased risk of adverse cardiovascular events.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the association between TRT and cardiovascular outcomes in men with androgen deficiency.

DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS: A retrospective cohort study was conducted within an integrated health care delivery system. Men at least 40 years old with evidence of androgen deficiency either by a coded diagnosis and/or a morning serum total testosterone level of less than 300 ng/dL were included. The eligibility window was January 1, 1999, to December 31, 2010, with follow-up through December 31, 2012.

EXPOSURES: Any prescribed TRT given by injection, orally, or topically.

MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURES: The primary outcome was a composite of cardiovascular end points that included acute myocardial infarction (AMI), coronary revascularization, unstable angina, stroke, transient ischemic attack (TIA), and sudden cardiac death (SCD). Multivariable Cox proportional hazards models were used to investigate the association between TRT and cardiovascular outcomes. An inverse probability of treatment weight, propensity score methodology, was used to balance baseline characteristics.

RESULTS: The cohorts consisted of 8808 men (19.8%) ever dispensed testosterone (ever-TRT) (mean age, 58.4 years; 1.4% with prior cardiovascular events) and 35 527 men (80.2%) never dispensed testosterone (never-TRT)…

How strong is the evidence?

Evidence Hub reads this as a cohort study, done in people. Its evidence level is 3 of 5 (Moderate · trial / cohort / secondary analysis). Trials without a large randomized design, cohorts and secondary analyses give moderate evidence. Reported size: 8,808 participants or records.

How the five levels of evidence work. The level is assigned automatically from the abstract and can be wrong, so check the paper.

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