Low testosterone level in middle-aged male patients with coronary artery disease

Abstract

Background Endogenous testosterone has been shown to provide a protective role in the development of cardiovascular diseases in men. This study investigated the changes of testosterone level and its relationship to the severity of coronary artery stenosis in middle-aged men with coronary artery disease (CAD). Methods Serum testosterone concentration was measured in 87 middle-aged men patients with CAD including stable angina pectoris (SAP), unstable angina pectoris (USAP) and acute myocardial infarction (AMI). All patients underwent coronary angiography and the severity of coronary stenosis was estimated by the Gensini coronary score. The patients with the severity of coronary artery stenosis of less than 50% served as control group. Results The levels of testosterone in SAP group (488.2 ± 96.8 ng/dl), USAP group (411.6 ± 128.6 ng/dl) and AMI group (365.3 ± 116.6 ng/dl) were significantly lower than that in control group (562.8 ± 110.2 ng/dl) (all p < 0.05). When compared with another group among SAP, USAP and AMI groups, the level of testosterone in the AMI group was the lowest, the USAP group was the median while the SAP group was the highest (all p < 0.05). There was a significant correlation between angiographic Gensini score and testosterone level (n = 87, r = − 0.513, p < 0.05). Multiple regression analysis found that testosterone and BMI were independent predictors for CAD (testosterone: odds ratio 0.311, 95% confidence interval 0.174–0.512; BMI: odds ratio 1.905, 95% confidence interval 1.116–2.973). Conclusion The present study showed that middle-aged male patients with CAD present a lower level of serum testosterone and the testosterone level was negatively correlated with the severity of coronary artery stenosis.