Testosterone review finds differing disease links found in men and women
03 March, 2020
Having genetically higher degrees of the sex hormone testosterone increases the risk of developing diabetes plus some types of cancer in women, and decreases diabetes risk but raises some cancer challenges in men, relating to new research.
The findings, from the major study to time on links between testosterone and disease, show the importance of studying individuals separately, the scientists who led the study said - and point to the need for caution in using testosterone supplements or hormone-reducing therapies.
The team, whose work was published in the journal Dynamics Medicine, used genetic info from a lot more than 425,000 persons registered in the united kingdom Biobank to recognize 2,571 genetic variations associated with differences in levels of testosterone.
Employing statistical analyses and cross-checking their benefits, they found that in girls, having genetically higher testosterone increases the risk of growing type 2 diabetes simply by 37%.
High testosterone also raises the chance of breasts and endometrial cancers in women, the analysis found, and escalates the risk growing polycystic ovary syndrome - a hormonal disorder that affects menstruation - by 51%.
In men, however, the researchers discovered that having larger testosterone levels reduces type 2 diabetes risk by 14% but also raises the risk of developing prostate cancer.
The results provide a unique insight into the disease impacts of testosterone, and "emphasise the importance of considering individuals separately in studies, as we saw opposite effects for testosterone on diabetes," said Katherine Ruth, a genetics professional at Britain's Exeter University who co-led the study.
John Perry, an expert at Cambridge University who caused Ruth, said the results add to scientists' knowledge of the potential risks and benefits of hormone therapies.
"In men, testosterone-lowering therapies are trusted to take care of prostate cancer, but until now it had been uncertain whether lower testosterone amounts are as well protective against growing prostate malignancy," he said.
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