Testosterone is essential for bone health in men. It helps maintain bone density and improve bone microarchitecture, preventing fractures. So treating older men with hypogonadism — a condition that causes low testosterone levels — with the hormone should decrease their likelihood of getting fractures, right?
Surprisingly not, according to a study published Wednesday in the New England Journal of Medicine. The research was conducted on 5,204 men between the ages of 45 and 80 with hypogonadism. Half received a low-dose testosterone gel daily, while the other half was given a placebo. The trial is part of a larger ongoing study sponsored by AbbVie, the maker of AndroGel, a testosterone gel.
Ahead of the trial, researchers estimated that the testosterone group would have a 30% lower risk of fracture than the placebo group, according to the paper’s authors, led by Peter Snyder, the medical director of Penn Pituitary Center. Instead, three years into the study, the cumulative incidence of fractures was 3.8% in the testosterone group, compared to 2.8% in the placebo group.
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