LH and ischaemic heart disease

Ischaemic heart disease ranks fourth in the causes for mortality and morbidity worldwide and accounted for 12% of deaths in 2004. Sex hormones appear to mediate several key sex differences in the cardiovascular system. Testosterone correlates inversely with predictors of cardiovascular events such as intima media thickness and aortic diameter. Male hypogonadism is associated with insulin resistance, increased production of pro-inflammatory cytokines, elevated fibrinogen and an atherogenic lipid profile. However it is uncertain whether age-related decline in testosterone is associated with IHD.

Hyde et al. explored associations between sex hormones and IHD in a large cohort of community-dwelling men aged 70 – 88 years at baseline, using electronic record linkage. They found that higher LH levels were associated with greater likelihood of experiencing an IHD event. This study is likely to be the first to identify LH levels as a marker for IHD risk in older men. The study also demonstrates a graded (although not statistically significant) relationship between decreasing testosterone levels and increasing risk, suggesting that androgen deficiency could be involved in the aetiology of IHD.

The authors show that dysregulation of the hypothalamic-pituitary-gonadal axis may be a risk factor for IHD and suggest that further studies in men with either elevated LH or low testosterone are required. Hyde et al. (2011) European Journal of Endocrinology 164 (4) 569-577.

Read the full article at DOI:10.1530/EJE-10-1063.