Testosterone ups heart disease risk in women

[Posted: Thu 05/11/2009 by Olivia Fens]

Postmenopausal women who have high testosterone levels may be at greater risk of heart disease, insulin resistance and the metabolic syndrome compared to women with low testosterone levels, a new study has found.

In the study, researchers from the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine in the US measured levels of testosterone in 344 women, aged 65-98 years.

They found that women with the highest testosterone levels – in the top 25% – were three times as likely to have coronary heart disease compared to women with lower testosterone levels.

These women were also three times as likely to have a group of metabolic risk factors called the metabolic syndrome compared to women with lower testosterone levels.

“For many years, androgens like testosterone were thought to play a significant role in men only and to be largely irrelevant in women,” the researchers said.

“It is now largely accepted that premenopausal women with polycystic ovary syndrome, a condition in which androgens are elevated, have increased health risks. However, the clinical relevance of testosterone in women over the age of 65 had remained uncertain until this recent study.”

The researchers believe that of a greater degree of insulin resistance in women with the highest testosterone levels could explain the increased health risks.

Insulin resistance is a metabolic disturbance in which the body does not use insulin efficiently and is itself a risk factor for the metabolic syndrome and cardiovascular disease.

“Further studies are needed to determine if a causal relationship exists between testosterone and insulin resistance and to provide more insight into the role testosterone plays in the pathogenesis of cardiovascular disease in women,” the researchers concluded.

The study was published in The Endocrine Society's Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism.