Secondary Polycythemia in Men Receiving Testosterone Therapy Increases Risk of Major Adverse Cardiovascular Events and Venous Thromboembolism in the First Year of Therapy.

ABSTRACT:

Purpose

An unsafe hematocrit threshold for men receiving testosterone therapy (TT) has never been tested. This study seeks to determine whether secondary polycythemia among men receiving TT confers an increased risk of major adverse cardiovascular events (MACE) and venous thromboembolic events (VTE).

Materials and methods

Using a multi-institutional database of 74 million patients, we identified 2 cohorts of men with low testosterone (total testosterone <350 ng/dl) who received TT and subsequently either developed polycythemia (5,887) or did not (4,2784). Polycythemia was defined as hematocrit ≥52%. As a secondary objective, we identified 2 cohorts of hypogonadal men without polycythemia, who either did (26,880) or did not (27,430) receive TT. Our primary outcome was the inc

SUBMITTER: Ory J 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12721636 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature