Evidence map›Paper›PMID 40694252›Full record

SynthesisAmerican journal of cardiovascular drugs : drugs, devices, and other interventions2025

Long-Term Cardiovascular Safety of Testosterone-Replacement Therapy in Middle-Aged and Older Men: A Meta-analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials.

Marcelo A P Braga, André Rivera, Gabriel Marinheiro, Nicole Felix, Pedro E P Carvalho, Douglas Mesadri Gewehr, Larissa Teixeira, Mariana R C Clemente, Pedro C Abrahão Reis, Lucas G C R de Amorim and 5 more

Abstract readMeta-AnalysisSystematic Review
PubMed Publisher
In one paragraph

Synthesis in American journal of cardiovascular drugs : drugs, devices, and other interventions, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 3 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
3citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

3 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Review
  2. Review
  3. Rhythm, Risk, and Responsibility: Assessing the Safety of Testosterone Replacement in Aging Men with Androgen Deficiency.American journal of cardiovascular drugs : drugs, devices, and other interventions · 2025
    Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

15 authors.

Marcelo A P Braga *Department of Medicine, Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. braga.marceloantonio0@gmail.com.ORCID http://orcid.org/0009-0007-7819-2400
André Rivera *Department of Medicine, Nove de Julho University, São Bernardo do Campo, Brazil.
Gabriel MarinheiroDepartment of Medicine, Federal University of Ceará, Sobral, Brazil.
Nicole FelixDepartment of Medicine, Federal University of Campina Grande, Campina Grande, Brazil.
Pedro E P CarvalhoCenter for Coronary Artery Disease, Minneapolis Heart Institute Foundation, Minneapolis, USA.
Douglas Mesadri GewehrCuritiba Heart Institute, Curitiba, Brazil.
Larissa TeixeiraDepartment of Medicine, Federal University of Campina Grande, Campina Grande, Brazil.
Mariana R C ClementeDepartment of Medicine, Petrópolis School of Medicine, Petrópolis, Brazil.
Pedro C Abrahão ReisDepartment of Medicine, Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
Lucas G C R de AmorimDepartment of Medicine, Federal University of Minas Gerais, Minas Gerais, Brazil.
Alice Deberaldini MarinhoDepartment of Medicine, Federal University of the State of Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
Thiago Bosco MendesDepartment of Medicine, University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, Pittsburgh, PA, USA.
Francesco Costantini MesquitaDepartment of Urology, São José do Rio Preto School of Medicine, São Paulo, Brazil.
Edoardo PozziDesai Sethi Urology Institute, University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, Miami, USA.
Ranjith RamasamyJumeirah American Clinic, Dubai, UAE.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

introductionThe cardiovascular safety of testosterone-replacement therapy (TRT) for middle-aged and older men with low to low-normal levels of testosterone remains unclear.

methodsWe systematically searched PubMed, Embase, Cochrane Library, and ClinicalTrials.gov for randomized controlled trials (RCTs) comparing TRT versus placebo for men aged ≥ 40 years old with hypogonadism or low to low-normal testosterone levels (≤ 14 nmol/L), and at least 12 months of follow-up. We pooled risk ratios (RRs) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs) applying a random-effects model and using R version 4.3.1 for statistical analyses.

resultsWe included 23 RCTs comprising 9280 men with testosterone deficiency, of whom 4800 (51.7%) were randomized to TRT. The mean age was 64.6 years, and the baseline total testosterone was 9.17 nmol/L. Placebo and TRT had similar rates of all-cause mortality (RR 0.85; 95% CI 0.60-1.19; p = 0.33). There was a significant increase in the incidence of cardiac arrhythmias (RR 1.53; 95% CI 1.20-1.97; p < 0.01). There was no significant difference between groups in cardiovascular mortality (RR 0.85; 95% CI 0.65-1.12; p = 0.25), stroke (RR 1.00; 95% CI 0.67-1.50; p = 0.99), and myocardial infarction (RR 0.94; 95% CI 0.69-1.28; p = 0.70).

conclusionIn men with low to low-normal testosterone, aged 40 and above, TRT did not increase all-cause mortality, cardiovascular mortality, stroke, or myocardial infarction, but increased the incidence of cardiac arrhythmias. REGISTRATION: PROSPERO identifier number CRD42024502421.

Indexed as

Cardiovascular DiseasesHormone Replacement TherapyHypogonadismTestosteroneAgedHumansMaleMiddle AgedRandomized Controlled Trials as TopicTestosterone

Identifiers

PMID40694252

What OpenQuestion holds

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Registered trials

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.