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| Alternity Healthcare in the News |
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Dr. Ebanks was recently featured on WABC-TV in a segment on managing life stress through healthy lifestyle choices and proper nutrition.
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| Vol. 2, Issue 4 |
April 2009 |
This month's newsletter is directed primarily at my male audience and the women that love them. Generally, men tend not to be proactive about their health but become more attentive up when the subject turns sexual. As you will see, there is a disconcerting link between declining testosterone levels, erectile dysfunction and heart disease.
Having your overall health staus assessed could improve the quality of your sex life and identify modifiable risk factors for heart disease. Prevention is always better.
Here's to your health...
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| Testosterone Levels and Health in Aging Men |
 Declining Levels and Risk for Ill-Health
As men grow older, testosterone levels fall, with a steeper decline in unbound or free testosterone; the biologically active portion. In numerous studies, lower testosterone levels have been associated with poorer cognitive function, higher body mass index and impaired general and sexual health in aging men. Recently, lower testosterone levels have been linked with metabolic syndrome, type 2 diabetes, cardiovascualr disease, prostate cancer and has been shown to predict higher overall mortality.
Reported in the European Urology Journal, men over 40 years with low testosterone were found to have reduced motivation and reduced sexual desire. In a separate study of men aged 31-78 years, serum testosterone was signifucantly correlated with erectile and orgasmic function domains of the International Index of Erectile Function (IIEF) questionnaire.
Middle-aged men with lower total testosterone levels noted improved libido and increased sexual desire after treatment with testosterone, as reported in the International Journal of Impotence Research, 2008.
A 2009 review article in the International Journal of Impotence Research noted that "erectile dysfunction is a marker for underlying vascular disease and its presence predicts increased incidence of subsequent cardiovascular disease." Several studies in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology and Circulation documented the association of low testosterone with increased intima medial thickness; a surrogate marker for heart disease.
The Health in Men Study published in the Clinical Endocrinology Journal 2008 concluded that "higher serum freee testosterone is associated with better cognitive function in aging men." In this same journal, an observational study of 3453 men aged 65-83 years suggested that healthy lifestyle choices made slow the decline in testosterone. These interventions included:
- no smoking
- moderate physical activity
- avoiding excessive alcohol
- eating fish > 3 times per week
- eating red meat a < 6 times per week
- maintaining a BMI < 25
- using reduced fat milk
- avoiding added salt in food
So, if you are feeling sluggish or like you have lost your edge,be sure to make an appointment for a comprehensive evaluation during which you can have your testosterone level checked. |
| Erectile Dysfunction May Signal Heart Disease |
 Young Men are at the Most Risk
Erectile dysfunction may be more common than you think.
It affects up to 10% of men in their 40's and more than half of all men by age 70.
Reported in JAMA, the Journal of the American Medical Association, 2005, nearly 9500 men aged 55 and older were evaluated every three months over a nine year period for cardiovascular disease and erectile dysfunction (ED). At the start of the study, 85% had no cardiovascular (CV) disease and 47% had ED. The authors found over the course of the study that the risk of incident cardiovascular events was nearly double for men with ED; an association in a similar range to that for current smokers or individuals with family history of CV disease.
More evidence of this frightening association comes from a ten-year Mayo Clinc study. In that study, the strong association between ED and coronary artery disease (CAD) suggeted they could be "differing manifestations of a common underlying vascular pathology." Study participants were divided by ten-year intervals and the youngest men (age 40-49) had the lowest incidence of ED. In each age group, the incidence of CAD increased dramatically in those with ED. Surprisingly, "the risk was highest in the youngest men with ED". That is, those 40-49 year olds with ED were found to have the highest incidence density of CAD per 1000 person-years.
This data suggests all men with ED, and particularly young men with ED, are ideal candidates for cardiovascular risk factor screening. Other factors that can contribute to ED include: diabetes, hypertension, high cholesterol, obesity, cigarette smoking, anxiety, depression and certain pharmaceutical medications.
Alternity Healthcare's Advanced Cardiovascular Screening Program offers a unique combination of disease risk marker assessment and direct disease process measurement to reveal your total cardiovascular health status.
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Your quest for longer life begins at
Alternity Healthcare
Alternity Healthcare uses cutting edge science and a comprehensive evaluation to identify and reduce your risk of degenertive diseases, such as diabetes, cardiovascular disease, metabolic syndrome, cancer, Alzheimer's disease and stroke. Dr. Ebanks, along with the members of his age management medical team, will outline a program to optimize your health. You will feel better, look better and perform better...longer.
Contact Alternity Healthcare for a confidential discussion about our individualized programs
www.alternityhealthcare.com
860.748.4064
Desmond Ebanks, MD
Founder & Medical Director
Alternity Healthcare LLC |
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