Endogenous Testosterone Can Help Determine Risk for Adverse Cardiovascular Events

Emerging evidence suggests that testosterone replacement therapy is associated with excess risk for thromboembolism and other adverse cardiovascular (CV) events. However, whether endogenous testosterone influences these risks remains unclear; observational studies are confounded by obesity and poor health, which lower testosterone while raising CV risk. In this Mendelian randomization study, researchers examined whether endogenous testosterone has a causal role in thromboembolism, heart failure, and myocardial infarction (MI).

Genetic predictors of endogenous testosterone (two autosomal gene regions, JMJD1C and SHBG) were identified using data from a trial that involved >3200 men (age range, 50–75). U.K. Biobank data from 392,000 adults were…