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Combining Behavioral Endocrinology and Experimental Economics: Testosterone and Social Decision Making
11:51

Combining Behavioral Endocrinology and Experimental Economics: Testosterone and Social Decision Making

Published on: March 2, 2011

Testosterone and blood pressure regulation

Tina Kienitz1, Marcus Quinkler

  • 1Clinical Endocrinology, Department of Internal Medicine, Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Endocrinology, Charité Campus Mitte, Charité Universitatsmedizin Berlin, Berlin, Germany.

Kidney & Blood Pressure Research
|March 6, 2008
PubMed

Insights

Androgens, like testosterone, influence blood pressure and cardiovascular health. While acute effects may lower vascular tone, long-term androgen action promotes vasoconstriction, atherosclerosis, and hypertension, impacting disease prevalence.

Area of Science:

  • Endocrinology
  • Cardiovascular Science
  • Nephrology

Background:

  • Androgens influence sex-specific blood pressure regulation.
  • Men exhibit higher risks for hypertension and coronary heart disease than premenopausal women.
  • Androgen effects on renal and cardiovascular systems are complex.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To review testosterone's actions on the renal and cardiovascular systems.
  • To critically analyze the role of androgens in blood pressure regulation.

Main Methods:

  • Systematic literature search of PubMed.
  • Keywords: 'blood pressure', 'hypertension', 'testosterone', 'androgens'.
  • Inclusion of experimental, animal, and clinical studies.

Main Results:

  • Acute testosterone administration may decrease vascular tone.
  • Long-term androgen exposure promotes vasoconstriction via upregulated thromboxane A2, norepinephrine, angiotensin II, and endothelin-1.
  • Androgens induce cardiac hypertrophy, atherosclerosis, vascular remodeling, and stimulate renal prohypertensive processes (e.g., renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system).
  • Androgens may promote oxidative stress and influence brain areas regulating blood pressure.

Conclusions:

  • Androgen effects on the renal-vascular system are complex and sometimes contradictory.
  • Net effects of androgen action include vasoconstriction, atherosclerosis, and renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system stimulation.
  • Androgens are implicated in determining blood pressure and cardiovascular disease prevalence.
Abstract

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