The first step for men who suspect they have low testosterone is a blood test. "This is safe, noninvasive test we can use to very accurately predict risk." Testosterone replacement can also benefit waist circumference, lean muscle mass, type 2 diabetes, metabolic syndrome and more. "We also know that low T can be thought of as a biomarker of poor overall health," says Dr. Nasir. The link between the heart and low T is more complex. While that's natural, he says some men experience a more exacerbated decline, resulting in early-onset testosterone deficiency. For women, the goal is to avoid supraphysiologic exposure and maintain levels within the normal female range if therapy is used at all (Travison et al., Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism, 2017; Davis et al., Journal of Sexual Medicine, 2019). It’s natural for testosterone levels to vary depending on your age and overall health. It’s unlikely — and difficult to tell — that a male adult has higher-than-normal levels of testosterone. It’s important to note that the normal ranges for testosterone levels can vary based on the type of blood test done and the laboratory where it is done. If any of these organs — your hypothalamus, pituitary gland or gonads — aren’t working normally, that can cause abnormal testosterone levels. As testosterone in your blood increases, it suppresses the production of gonadotropin-releasing hormone, which helps maintain normal levels of testosterone. If testosterone levels are too high or too low, it can cause certain symptoms. Men and women need the proper amount of testosterone to develop and function normally. Some men and women experience immediate side effects of testosterone treatment, such as acne, disturbed breathing while sleeping, breast swelling or tenderness, or swelling in the ankles. Women may have a testosterone deficiency due to diseases of the pituitary, hypothalamus or adrenal glands, in addition to removal of the ovaries. Although testosterone may make prostate cancer grow, it is not clear that testosterone treatment actually causes cancer. As surprising as it may be, women can also be bothered by symptoms of testosterone deficiency. Also, as men get older, their livers make more sex hormone binding globulin (SHBG), which binds to testosterone circulating in the bloodstream. In recent years, researchers (and pharmaceutical companies) have focused on the effects of testosterone deficiency, especially among men. Such content is not intended to replace an evaluation with a qualified healthcare professional of your choosing and is not intended as medical advice. The information conveyed on the Humanaut Health website is not intended to act as a substitute for professional medical advice, or to diagnose, treat, cure, mitigate or prevent any disease or serious medical condition. • In men, the goal is physiologic replacement with symptom benefit, not maximal lab values. The AUA uses below 300 ng/dL as a reasonable diagnostic cutoff, but treatment targets are individualized and generally aim for physiologic replacement rather than one universal number (Mulhall et al., Journal of Urology, 2018). Interpreting testosterone requires the clinical picture, the treatment method, the testing interval, and the broader symptom and safety profile. That is why good hormone care depends on more than a screenshot of a lab result. In transdermal therapy, timing matters differently. For example, some studies suggest that TRT decreases your risk of heart attack over time, while others say it increases your risk. Certain existing health conditions make TRT unsafe, like prostate cancer, breast cancer and heart failure. Certain existing health conditions make it unsafe, like prostate cancer and heart failure. TRT involves taking manufactured forms of testosterone to regulate your levels of this hormone. That’s because they don’t manufacture sufficient levels of testosterone for optimal growth and health. In addition to developing primary and secondary sex characteristics, androgens have diverse anabolic functions such as increasing muscle mass and bone density.1 Testosterone has also demonstrated a number of important effects on the cardiovascular system. Some biological effects of testosterone may result from its aromatization to estradiol and subsequent interaction with the estrogen receptor. Dihydrotestosterone (DHT), the most biologically active androgen, is synthesized from testosterone by 5α-reductase and exerts its effects via a family of androgen receptors. Testosterone (T) is the principal male sex hormone, secreted primarily by the testes and transported in the blood by the carrier protein, sex-hormone binding globulin (SHBG). However, there currently is no credible evidence that T therapy increases CV risk and substantial evidence that it does not. Testimonials are not intended to make claims that our products and services diagnose, treat, cure, mitigate or prevent any disease. In men with prostate cancer, testosterone therapy is clearly contra-indicated and lower levels of testosterone are beneficial. Furthermore, testosterone levels decline with age as the prevalence of prostate carcinoma rises—could it be normal and physiological levels of testosterone that are in fact protective against the development of prostate cancer? However, over the last decade, epidemiological and clinical investigations have failed to demonstrate any association between underlying testosterone levels and the risk of developing prostate cancer. However, the effect of testosterone replacement therapy on mortality and patient outcome will need to be subject to large, prospective and randomized controlled trials. Malkin et al.66 advanced this hypothesis by performing a similar, blinded, placebo-controlled and crossover study of testosterone therapy in men with angina, but only recruited men with significant hypogonadism. In men with angiographically-proven coronary disease, 12 weeks of trans-dermal testosterone therapy significantly increased time to ischaemia at exercise testing. TRT doesn’t fix or cure the underlying cause of low testosterone. For example, chemotherapy or radiation therapy can damage one of these organs. Together, you and your healthcare provider will decide if TRT is right for you. A carefully formulated TRT treatment plan should avoid many of these undesirable side effects. It also can affect people with sickle-cell disease, thalassemia, or alcoholism. People undergoing glucocorticoid therapy can develop the condition.