{'fraction_non_alphanumeric': 0.02269861286254729, 'fraction_numerical': 0.005044136191677175, 'mean_word_length': 4.834558823529412, 'pattern_counts': {'":': 0, '<': 0, '<?xml version=': 0, '>': 0, 'https://': 0, 'lorem ipsum': 0, 'www.': 0, 'xml': 0}, 'pii_count': 0, 'substrings_counts': 0, 'word_list_counts': {'cursed_substrings.json': 1, 'profanity_word_list.json': 0, 'sexual_word_list.json': 0, 'zh_pornsignals.json': 0}}
Testosterone and the heart: risk or benefit?

Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is the prime cause of death among the elderly in industrialised countries, and a major determinant of chronic disability.The lifetime risk of CVD is much larger in men compared to women, suggesting that testosterone (T) or the lack of estrogens play a role in the higher risk of CVD. On the other hand, T levels decrease with age, coincident with the age-associated increase in atherosclerotic disease. From cross-sectional studies there is a suggestion that men with CVD might have lower T levels. On the other hand, so far prospective studies do not show a relationship between T and CVD in men. Intervention studies with T in older men or men with cardiovascular disease suggest that there might be improvements in ECG changes. In addition,T exerts significant effects on several risk factors. Only limited research has been done on the relation between T and the vascular wall. In our study amongst 403 elderly males (aged 73-94 years), low serum T levels were related to a more marked intima-media thickness (IMT) of the carotid artery. In addition, serum free T concentrations were inversely related to the mean progression of IMT of the carotid artery 4 years later. Estradiol levels were weakly associated with an increase in IMT after adjustment for cardiovascular risk factors. Relations between classical cardiovascular risk factors and CVD become increasingly complex with advanced age and other factors, such as sex hormone levels, may be of importance in relation to CVD risk in older individuals.