{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,3,11]],"date-time":"2026-03-11T21:42:11Z","timestamp":1773265331926,"version":"3.50.1"},"reference-count":37,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"5","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,3,9]],"date-time":"2026-03-09T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1773014400000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"DOI":"10.13039\/100031478","name":"NextGenerationEU","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","award":["09I03\u201303\u2013V05\u201300008"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["09I03\u201303\u2013V05\u201300008"]}],"id":[{"id":"10.13039\/100031478","id-type":"DOI","asserted-by":"crossref"}]},{"name":"Pavol Jozef Safarik University","award":["vvgs\u20132023\u20132917"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["vvgs\u20132023\u20132917"]}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Diagnostics"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Background: The relationship between testosterone and coronary artery disease (CAD) remains a subject of debate. Most studies suggest an inverse association\u2014lower testosterone, higher risk. However, data from Central European populations undergoing coronary angiography are limited. Objectives: To investigate the association between serum testosterone levels and angiographically confirmed coronary artery stenosis in a Slovak population. Methods: This cross-sectional study included 129 consecutive stable patients (84 men, 45 women; mean age 64.3 \u00b1 9.7 years) undergoing elective coronary angiography for suspected stable coronary artery disease. Significant coronary stenosis was defined as \u226550% luminal narrowing in any major epicardial vessel. Serum testosterone, lipid profile, and traditional risk factors were assessed. Univariate and multivariate logistic regression models were constructed to evaluate independent associations of coronary stenosis. Results: Coronary stenosis \u2265 50% was present in 74 patients (57.4%). Notably, patients with stenosis had significantly higher testosterone levels (6.62 \u00b1 2.79 vs. 4.85 \u00b1 3.50 ng\/mL, p = 0.002). In univariate analysis, testosterone showed a significant association (OR 1.197 per ng\/mL, OR 1.784 per SD, p = 0.003). In multivariate analysis adjusted for age, sex, diabetes mellitus, and LDL (low-density lipoprotein) cholesterol, testosterone remained independently associated (adjusted OR 2.043 per SD, 95% CI 1.221\u20133.420, p = 0.007), as did diabetes mellitus (OR 2.60, p = 0.032). Conclusions: Elevated serum testosterone is paradoxically associated with increased prevalence of coronary stenosis in our cohort. These findings from stable, chronic CAD patients may work fundamentally differently from what is observed in acute coronary syndromes, where stress-induced testosterone suppression may confound observed associations.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/diagnostics16050814","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,3,9]],"date-time":"2026-03-09T13:27:18Z","timestamp":1773062838000},"page":"814","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Association Between Serum Testosterone Levels and Coronary Artery Stenosis: A Cross-Sectional Study in Central European Population"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"16","author":[{"given":"Pavol","family":"F\u00fcl\u00f6p","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"2nd Department of Cardiology, Faculty of Medicine, East Slovak Institute of Cardiovascular Diseases, Pavol Jozef \u0160af\u00e1rik University in Ko\u0161ice, Ondavsk\u00e1 8, 040 11 Ko\u0161ice, Slovakia"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-7874-2528","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Zuzana","family":"Pella","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Cybernetics and Artificial Intelligence, Faculty of Electrical Engineering and Informatics, Technical University of Ko\u0161ice, 040 01 Ko\u0161ice, Slovakia"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-6946-3765","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Tibor","family":"Porub\u00e4n","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"1st Department of Cardiology, Faculty of Medicine, East Slovak Institute of Cardiovascular Diseases, Pavol Jozef \u0160af\u00e1rik University in Ko\u0161ice, Ondavsk\u00e1 8, 040 11 Ko\u0161ice, Slovakia"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Peter","family":"Hre\u0161ko","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Imaging Techniques, Faculty of Medicine, East Slovak Institute of Cardiovascular Diseases, Pavol Jozef \u0160af\u00e1rik University in Ko\u0161ice, Ondavsk\u00e1 8, 040 11 Ko\u0161ice, Slovakia"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Franti\u0161ek Pavol","family":"Zajac","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"1st Department of Cardiology, Faculty of Medicine, East Slovak Institute of Cardiovascular Diseases, Pavol Jozef \u0160af\u00e1rik University in Ko\u0161ice, Ondavsk\u00e1 8, 040 11 Ko\u0161ice, Slovakia"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Mariana","family":"Dvoro\u017e\u0148\u00e1kov\u00e1","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"2nd Department of Cardiology, Faculty of Medicine, East Slovak Institute of Cardiovascular Diseases, Pavol Jozef \u0160af\u00e1rik University in Ko\u0161ice, Ondavsk\u00e1 8, 040 11 Ko\u0161ice, Slovakia"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-9789-3305","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"\u0160tefan","family":"T\u00f3th","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Gerontology and Geriatrics, Faculty of Medicine, Pavol Jozef \u0160af\u00e1rik University\u2014University Hospital of St. Michael, Murga\u0161ova 1, 040 86 Ko\u0161ice, Slovakia"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Dominik","family":"Pella","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"1st Department of Cardiology, Faculty of Medicine, East Slovak Institute of Cardiovascular Diseases, Pavol Jozef \u0160af\u00e1rik University in Ko\u0161ice, Ondavsk\u00e1 8, 040 11 Ko\u0161ice, Slovakia"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,3,9]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"2982","DOI":"10.1016\/j.jacc.2020.11.010","article-title":"Global Burden of Cardiovascular Diseases and Risk Factors, 1990\u20132019: Update From the GBD 2019 Study","volume":"76","author":"Roth","year":"2020","journal-title":"J. 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