Low Testosterone"Low testosterone in older men was associated with an increased risk for mortality," Shores concluded. During 4.3 years of follow-up, 20.1% of men with normal testosterone levels died, compared with 24.6% of men with equivocal levels and 34.9% of men with low testosterone levels, Shores' team found.
Testosterone levels can be affected by illness, surgery and other medical problems. But even when the researchers excluded men who had died within the first year of follow-up, those with low testosterone levels were still 68% more likely to die compare to men with normal levels of the hormone, Shores noted.
It's not yet clear whether low testosterone helps cause illness and death, Shores said. Men who have chronic illnesses typically have low testosterone levels, she noted, so "it may be that men who are ill have a low testosterone level, and then they have a higher death rate."
Shores suggested that men who think they might have low testosterone levels discuss it with their doctor. Testosterone supplementation is an option, but Shores cautioned against it, saying the risks and benefits of such treatment aren't yet known.
One expert said the findings aren't overly surprising.
"This confirms similar data from the Massachusetts Male Aging Study," said Dr. Andre T. Guay, the director of the Center for Sexual Function/Endocrinology at the Lahey Clinic in Peabody, Mass.
But the threshold Shores used to define low testosterone is lower than what other researchers typically use, "so people with really low testosterone levels are at risk," he added.
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