The following is the summary of “Decreased Testosterone Levels Precede a Myocardial Infarction in Both Men and Women,” published in the January 2023 issue of Cardiovascular Disease by Faresjö et al.

This study compares a large random sample of the general population with middle-aged men and women to examine the possible impact of the hormone testosterone on the risk of myocardial infarction. Testosterone levels in hair were evaluated using radioimmunoassay 1 month and 3 months before an ST-elevation or non-ST-elevation acute myocardial infarction. In addition, middle-aged men and women (n=168) with a history of myocardial infarction had their mean testosterone levels evaluated (the acute myocardial infarction [AMI] cases). 

The (n=3,150) people were measured once to serve as controls; they were all roughly the same age. No significant difference in hair testosterone levels between AMI patients and controls was identified 3 months before AMI in either sex. However, testosterone levels were dropping (P<0.001) in both men and women in the month leading up to AMI, with a drop from 2.84 to 2.10 pg/mg in men and from 1.43 to 1.10 pg/mg in women. Although traditional cardiovascular risk factors were investigated as potential confounders, they did not affect this trend. 

Additionally, a second control group (n=205) from the general population was used to compare the AMI cases. A trend of declining testosterone levels was noticeable for men exclusively, even in the tiny control group. There may be some natural, physiologic change in testosterone levels over time, and this control group was tiny. The results of this study suggest that low testosterone levels play a role in the pathophysiological processes leading up to myocardial infarction, suggesting that this association deserves further study.

Source: sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0002914922010682