Low testosterone levels in healthy older women are associated with an increased risk of major cardiac events including fatal coronary heart disease, a landmark Australian study shows.

The Melbourne-led team of clinicians say their findings dispel the long-held assumption that high serum concentrations of the sex hormone were detrimental to women’s cardiovascular health.

“We need to stop thinking about testosterone as a ‘male’ hormone that is bad for women,” said senior author and clinical endocrinologist Professor Susan Davis, from Monash University.

Using data from 5500 patients in the observational SHOW (Sex Hormones in Older Women) study, Professor Davis and colleagues assessed the link between serum concentrations of sex steroids and the risk of major adverse cardiovascular events (MACE).