A study of Medicare records found that men with cardio artery disease (CAD) were more likelt to be on testosterone replacement therapy (TRT) than those who are not. I don't find thiis surprising, as men with low testosterone are more likely to have CAD than men with normal testosterone levels. But this press report seems to treat this result as some type of scandal and suggest tighter controls over the use of TRT.
Nancy E. Morden, MD, MPH, The Dartmouth Institute for Health Policy and Clinical Practice, Lebanon, New Hampshire, and colleagues examined Medicare data on millions of men aged at least 50 years between 2007 and 2016.
They found that as many as 7% of men used the hormone in certain parts of the United States, with the majority of prescriptions for off-label use. And spending on testosterone has been increasing annually, almost quadrupling from just over $100 million in 2007 to around $400 million in 2016. The research also shows that testosterone use is consistently higher among men with CAD than those without.
"Persistently higher testosterone use among patients with CAD suggests the need for more effective dissemination of label changes," the team writes.
"A robust prior authorization process could also help, as could rigorous evidence-based safety-review processes, richer shared-risk contracts, and patient education."
Nancy E. Morden, MD, MPH, The Dartmouth Institute for Health Policy and Clinical Practice, Lebanon, New Hampshire, and colleagues examined Medicare data on millions of men aged at least 50 years between 2007 and 2016.
They found that as many as 7% of men used the hormone in certain parts of the United States, with the majority of prescriptions for off-label use. And spending on testosterone has been increasing annually, almost quadrupling from just over $100 million in 2007 to around $400 million in 2016. The research also shows that testosterone use is consistently higher among men with CAD than those without.
"Persistently higher testosterone use among patients with CAD suggests the need for more effective dissemination of label changes," the team writes.
"A robust prior authorization process could also help, as could rigorous evidence-based safety-review processes, richer shared-risk contracts, and patient education."
