Does fixing low testosterone help your heart?
SAT-150 Trends in Blood-Based Cardiometabolic Profiles During Testosterone Replacement Therapy: A Longitudinal Study of Over 4,000 Men
Not medical advice. For informational purposes only. Always consult a healthcare professional. Terms
Surprising Findings
HDL dropped 11.38% while triglycerides and HbA1c improved—despite no change in LDL.
Common belief: Testosterone therapy should raise HDL or at least not hurt it. This study shows the opposite—making it a paradox that contradicts decades of assumptions.
Practical Takeaways
If you’re a man with low testosterone and high triglycerides or a high triglyceride:HDL ratio, ask your doctor about TRT—especially if you’re prediabetic or overweight.
Not medical advice. For informational purposes only. Always consult a healthcare professional. Terms
Surprising Findings
HDL dropped 11.38% while triglycerides and HbA1c improved—despite no change in LDL.
Common belief: Testosterone therapy should raise HDL or at least not hurt it. This study shows the opposite—making it a paradox that contradicts decades of assumptions.
Practical Takeaways
If you’re a man with low testosterone and high triglycerides or a high triglyceride:HDL ratio, ask your doctor about TRT—especially if you’re prediabetic or overweight.
Publication
Journal
Journal of the Endocrine Society
Year
2025
Authors
A. Clift, Hans Johnson, Vivian N Liu, David R Huang, M. Khera
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Claims (6)
When men with low testosterone start taking testosterone therapy, their triglyceride (a type of fat in the blood) levels tend to go down—sometimes by almost half—if they started with high levels already. This suggests the therapy might help improve their blood fat numbers.
Giving men the right amount of testosterone to bring their levels back to normal doesn’t make their heart worse — and might even help their metabolism and blood sugar.
For men with low testosterone, giving them testosterone therapy may lower their triglyceride-to-HDL ratio by almost 20% in a year — and if their ratio was already really high (above 6), it can drop by more than two-thirds, which is good because high ratios are tied to heart and metabolic problems.
For men with low testosterone, taking testosterone therapy may slightly lower their blood sugar levels after a year, which could mean their diabetes or blood sugar control gets a little better.
For men with low testosterone, taking testosterone therapy may lower their overall cholesterol by about 7% after a year, but it doesn’t seem to change the 'bad' LDL cholesterol.