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The hormone testosterone may well play a part in male life expectancy…
[mis à jour le 11 June 2007 à 12h01]
“Among men over 50, an abnormal drop in testosterone level is likely to increase the risk of death”. On the other hand, supplementing testosterone has not led to a decrease in this risk.
This is the conclusion of an American study involving almost 800 patients. Professor Gail Laughlin and her team (University of California, San Diego) studied the cases of 795 male patients, all of whom during the 1970s had taken part in an extensive epidemiological study. The aim was to determine whether a particularly large drop in their level of testosterone – the male sex hormone – had an effect on their life expectancy.
The results showed that “over 18 years, the men with the most marked drops in testosterone levels had a higher than average risk of mortality”, explains Professor Laughlin. An increased risk that could rise to as much as 33% in some cases. On the other hand, and this is perhaps the most interesting conclusion, taking testosterone supplements did not lead to “any reduction in this increased risk. Further studies will be needed to reveal the precise influence testosterone has on life expectancy among men over 50.
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