Circulating Androgen Concentrations and Risk of Incident Heart Failure in Older Men: The Cardiovascular Health Study

In a study of 1,061 older men from the Cardiovascular Health Study, researchers found that lower levels of calculated free testosterone were significantly associated with a higher risk of incident heart failure (HF) over a median follow-up of 9.6 years, with a hazard ratio of 1.14. Other hormones, such as total testosterone and dihydrotestosterone, did not show significant associations with HF risk. The findings suggested that testosterone deficiency might contribute to HF incidence, particularly heart failure with reduced ejection fraction (HFrEF), and highlighted the potential of testosterone replacement therapy as a strategy to reduce HF risk. However, further research was needed to confirm these findings, and the study's limitations included a moderate sample size and lack of fasting state specimen collection.