Testosterone Replacement May Lower Death Rate Among Type 2 Men

British researchers say that testosterone replacement therapy for type 2 men with low testosterone levels could reduce their death rate significantly. Over the course of a six-year study by the University of Sheffield, only 8.6 percent of low-testosterone subjects who were given replacement therapy died, compared to 20 percent of low-testosterone subjects who did not receive the therapy.  

The study involved 587 type 2 men who were divided into three groups:
• Men with normal testosterone levels (Nine percent of this group died over the course of the study)
• Men with low testosterone levels who were not treated with replacement therapy (20 percent of this group died over the course of the study)
• Men with low testosterone levels who received replacement therapy (8.6 percent of this group died over the course of the study, slightly fewer than in the normal testosterone-level group)

The study results confirm a suspicion that low testosterone levels, which occur in many men with type 2 diabetes, can be linked to an increased risk of death. However, these results also suggest that it may be possible to offer a fairly simple treatment to counter that risk. Further studies on a larger scale will be needed to confirm the findings.

The researchers presented their findings in early April at the Society for Endocrinology BES 2011 meeting in Birmingham, UK.