New Concern About Testosterone and Heart Risks
By ANAHAD O'CONNOR, NYT
A large new study found that prescription testosterone raised the risk of heart attacks in older men and in middle-aged men with a history of heart disease, prompting some experts on Wednesday to call for more extensive warning labels on the drugs.
The new study is one of several in recent years that have highlighted cardiac problems as a potential side effect of testosterone gels, patches, pellets and injections. The hormone is approved for low testosterone levels and is widely marketed for symptoms of “low T,” including fatigue, low libido and loss of energy. Sales in the last decade have soared.
By itself, the new study, which was not a randomized trial, the gold standard in medical research, “may not tell us very much,” said Dr. Michael Lauer, the director of cardiovascular sciences at the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute, who was not involved in the study. “But when you put this together with the rest of the medical literature, this tells us that we potentially have a problem.”
The drugs carry no mention of an increased risk on their labels or in their advertising materials, said Dr. Sidney M. Wolfe, a senior adviser to the Washington advocacy group Public Citizen. “Given that there have been several studies now, I don’t see how the Food and Drug Administration can justify having no warnings of heart attacks at all,” he said.
(More here.)
A large new study found that prescription testosterone raised the risk of heart attacks in older men and in middle-aged men with a history of heart disease, prompting some experts on Wednesday to call for more extensive warning labels on the drugs.
The new study is one of several in recent years that have highlighted cardiac problems as a potential side effect of testosterone gels, patches, pellets and injections. The hormone is approved for low testosterone levels and is widely marketed for symptoms of “low T,” including fatigue, low libido and loss of energy. Sales in the last decade have soared.
By itself, the new study, which was not a randomized trial, the gold standard in medical research, “may not tell us very much,” said Dr. Michael Lauer, the director of cardiovascular sciences at the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute, who was not involved in the study. “But when you put this together with the rest of the medical literature, this tells us that we potentially have a problem.”
The drugs carry no mention of an increased risk on their labels or in their advertising materials, said Dr. Sidney M. Wolfe, a senior adviser to the Washington advocacy group Public Citizen. “Given that there have been several studies now, I don’t see how the Food and Drug Administration can justify having no warnings of heart attacks at all,” he said.
(More here.)
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