In a matched records study, testosterone therapy in postmenopausal women lined up with more cardiovascular events

What the research found

Records study presented at a meeting (the release does not cite a journal paper). The Menopause Society posted this on 7 October 2026. The dateline reads 20 October 2026; the meeting is 20-24 October 2026 in San Diego. Xuezhi Daniel Jiang and colleagues used the TriNetX US Collaborative Network. More than 6,300 postmenopausal women ages 45 and older were propensity-matched. Women starting testosterone were compared with women without testosterone exposure, after a 12-month washout and after excluding prior cardiovascular disease. Mean follow-up was nearly 3 years. A composite of coronary disease, ischemic stroke or arterial occlusion, and heart failure, from 30 days to 5 years, occurred in 3.8 percent with testosterone and 0.5 percent without (hazard ratio 8.08; 95 percent confidence interval 4.72 to 13.82). The association held when testosterone plus hormone therapy was compared with hormone therapy alone. Absolute counts were low. The release says there is no FDA-approved testosterone product for women in the United States, and that prescriptions for low sexual desire use low doses of products made for men, off label. It also says evidence is insufficient for fatigue, memory, weight, or bone density. Not medical advice. Not a substitute for a prescribed medicine. Off-label prescription use is clinician-only. VitaLonga does not diagnose, treat, or cure disease. Never start, stop, or replace a prescription on the basis of a headline.

Evidence level: Human study. A study in people, but an association isn't proof of cause.

Read the original at The Menopause Society / Drexel University