Testosterone, dihydrotestosterone, and incident cardiovascular disease and mortality in the cardiovascular health study

Context: Low testosterone (T) is associated with prevalent cardiovascular disease (CVD) and mortality. DHT, a more potent androgen, may also be associated with CVD and mortality, but few studies have examined this. Objective: The study objective was to examine whether T and DHT are risk factors for incident CVD and mortality. Design: In a longitudinal cohort study, we evaluated whether total T, calculated free T (cFT), DHT, and calculated free DHT were associated with incident CVD and mortality in men in the Cardiovascular Health Study (mean age 76, range 66-97 years) who were free of CVD at the time of blood collection. Main Outcome: The main outcomes were incident CVD and all-cause mortality. Results:Among1032menfollowed for amedianof 9 years, 436 incidentCVDeventsand777 deaths occurred. In models adjusted for cardiovascular risk factors, total TandcFTwerenot associated with incident CVD or all-cause mortality, whereas DHT and calculated free DHT had curvilinear associations with incident CVD (P < .002 and P = .04, respectively) and all-cause mortality (P < .001 for both). Conclusions: In a cohort of elderly men,DHTand calculated freeDHTwere associated with incident CVD and all-cause mortality. Further studies are needed to confirm these results and to clarify the underlying physiologic mechanisms.