Does Testosterone Therapy Confer Risk for Venous Thromboembolism?

In a case-crossover study, testosterone therapy was associated with excess risk.

Testosterone therapy can induce hematologic abnormalities associated with hypercoagulability, but whether it actually confers excess risk for venous thromboembolism (VTE; i.e., deep venous thrombosis or pulmonary embolism) is controversial. In this study, researchers used U.S. national pharmacy and medical claims databases to identify about 40,000 men (mean age, 57) with incident VTE and at least 12 months of data before VTE. Patients with cancer were excluded. About 4% of these men had received testosterone prescriptions during the year before their VTE events.

The design of the study was “case-crossover,” in which patients served as their own controls. When use of testosterone during the 6 months immediately preceding VTE (case period) was…

Reviewing Author

Thomas L. Schwenk, MD

Disclosures

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Thomas L. Schwenk, MD

Disclosures

Editorial BoardsUpToDate

Does Testosterone Therapy Confer Risk for Venous Thromboembolism?

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Reviewing Author