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Why choosing TRT can lengthen your life expectancy (scientific meta-analysis)

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I wrote this review article of a meta-analysis as part of a private contest, since I have not published anything here in a long time I thought to publish it here too.
Why testosterone replacement therapy is good for your health
If you have been training for a while, you have surely heard of testosterone replacement therapy (TRT) and its effects, for some people it is a panacea and for others it is a way to destroy our health.
I am going to explain scientifically why it is not only beneficial to health but also increases the life expectancy of the person who undergoes TRT for life.
I will argue this based on the meta-analysis of people subjected to the use of testosterone replacement therapies with suboptimal levels of testosterone and its effects on body composition and health.
Corona & Co.'s original meta-analysis was published in the Journal of Endocrine Investigation, in which an extensive search was carried out in MEDLINE, Embase and Cochrane including the following words: testosterone and body composition, all observational studies that compared the effect of TS on body weight and body composition and other metabolic parameters.
The meta-analysis gathers 824 articles that speak of a total of 4513 patients whose average age is 51.7 years, all these patients underwent TRT and their data was measured as time passed.
From the meta-analysis we can extract the following data:
Weight loss and waist reduction after 24 months was −3.50 [−5.21; -1.80] kg and -6.23 [-7.94; −4.76] cm, respectively, thus a significant reduction in body fat (risk factor) and an increase in lean mass can be seen.
In other trials such as those by Zitzmann (2014) it produced a great effect on waist reduction, for example here the tolerability and effectiveness of injectable testosterone undecanoate for the treatment of male hypogonadism was studied in a worldwide sample of 1,438 men; With a basal waist circumference of 99.5 +/- 15.25cm, we are talking about a ~ 20% reduction.
Studies that were based on people with diabetes could see a reduction in fasting blood glucose and a considerable improvement in insulin sensitivity as detected by the HOMA-IR index.
Now we are going to talk about the most striking data, cholesterol and blood pressure are two of the greatest risk factors for the mortality rate, today it is believed that the use of testosterone considerably worsens the lipid profile and raises blood pressure material.
In the meta-analysis, it can be appreciated that providing exogenous testosterone (even in supraphysiological doses) caused considerable improvements in blood lipids and blood pressure, especially an increase in good cholesterol levels and a reduction in bad cholesterol levels.
Zitzmann and colleagues also saw significant improvements in mood and ability to concentrate in hypogonadic subjects.
Conclusion:
As you can see, the use of testosterone replacement therapy offers many benefits in terms of both health and body composition.

If you want to check the Bibliography:

[1] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1484557/
[2] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17098591
[3] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/11701431
[4] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/27241317
[5] https://www.researchgate.net/publication/273062611_Anabolic_Steroid_Use
[6] https://heinonline.org/HOL/LandingPage?handle=hein.journals/syrlr63&div=...
[7] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19209124
[8] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24636400
[9] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22812645
[10] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5833963/

giardap's picture

You need to rewrite this.

  1. You don't link clearly to the meta analysis
  2. The first couple of studies are on steroid abuse and identify behaviours that clearly do not increase life expectancy
  3. Next study gives evidence very clearly opposing what you say about lipids
  4. If you think supraphysiological doses of test prop are good for blood pressure then you need to be checked by a doctor yourself

I had to stop reading at that point as it became impossible to continue.... and I didn't even get to a longitudinal trt study or meta analysis...

IrishMack's picture

What about the decrease in life expectancy from trt? What about the implications of brain function

https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMoa1000485

The article below also shows how testosterone replacement did not "fix" depression in men, but depression itself causes low testosterone, leading to a higher mortality in trt patients with clinical depression

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4330791/

Then there's the article that shows high AND low testosterone causes high mortality.

https://www.healthline.com/health-news/men-too-much-testosterone-linked-...

https://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/sexual-health/in-depth/test...

skydancer4's picture

Thanks for the reply!
1)That is true but it has nothing to do with the mood enhancement part of the meta-analysis, low test causes depression, also depression can cause low test as you said and symptoms in that case can get worse, but if the case is low test as the cause of depression and not the other way around it will improve the mood as the meta showed.
2)The essays that you sent are cherrypicked (not in a bad way), the difference between those essays and a meta is that the meta is formed by a ton of essays and is way more reliable.
3) Also keep in mind that a real "TRT" needs to try to mimic endogenous test, so a TRT wont be "low or high" test, it will be normal test in range and all the parameters should be revised by a doctor.

KMC's picture

since I have not published anything here in a long time

Excuse me, but you've only been here since Nov 1, 2019.
10 months is not a long time.

Owes a Review × 1
skydancer4's picture

Haha yes, but i used to post more often, then i caught the COVID, quarantine etc and i disconnected, but glad being back here .
As Einstein said time is relative right? Smile