Testosterone and the risk of incident atrial fibrillation in older men: further analysis of the ASPREE study.

Background: A cardiovascular safety trial of testosterone in men with cardiovascular risk factors or disease found no difference in rates of major adverse cardiovascular events (MACE) or death but noted more atrial fibrillation (AF) events in testosterone-treated men. We investigated the relationship between endogenous testosterone concentrations with risk of developing AF in healthy older men.
Methods: Post-hoc analysis of 4570 male participants in the ASPirin in Reducing Events in the Elderly (ASPREE) study. Men were aged ≥ 70 years, had no history of cardiovascular disease (including AF), thyroid disease, prostate cancer, dementia, or life-threatening illnesses. Risk of AF was modelled using Cox proportional hazards regression.
Findings: Median (IQR) age was 73.7 (71.6-77.1) years and median (IQR) follow-up 4.4 (3.3-5.5) years, during which 286 men developed AF (15.3 per 1000 participant-years). Baseline testosterone was higher in men who developed incident AF compared men who did not [17.0 (12.4-21.2) vs 15.7 (12.2-20.0) nmol/L]. There was a non-linear association of baseline testosterone with incident AF. The risk for AF was higher in men with testosterone in quintiles (Q) 4&5 (Q4:Q3, HR = 1.91; 95%CI = 1.29-2.83 and Q5:Q3HR = 1.98; 95%CI = 1.33-2.94). Results were similar after excluding men who experienced MACE or heart failure during follow-up.
Interpretation: Circulating testosterone concentrations within the high-normal range are independently associated with an increased risk of incident AF amongst healthy older men. This suggests that AF may be an adverse consequence of high-normal total testosterone concentrations.
Funding: National Institute on Aging and National Cancer Institute at the National Institutes of Health; Australian Government (NHMRC, CSIRO); Monash University; and AlfredHealth.
Competing Interests: Professor Yeap reported receiving research support funding from University of Western Australian, and an honoraria for presentations and participation in advisory committee, both of which are outside of the submitted work. Professor Schneider reported receiving a grant from Abbott Diagnostics for consumables and is an unpaid board member of Public Pathology Australia. Dr Woods reported receiving National Institute of Health (NIH) and National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) funding, which is paid to Monash University.
(© 2024 The Author(s).)