Research

Hormonal

Testosterone administration in eugonadal men causes a dose-dependent decrease in HDL cholesterol and an increase in hemoglobin, while having no significant effect on PSA, sexual function, or spatial cognition at the doses studied.

Higher doses of testosterone will lower your 'good' cholesterol (HDL) and raise your hemoglobin. While PSA and sexual function remain stable, the cardiovascular risk profile changes with dose. Lower doses (125mg) may offer a better balance of muscle gain vs. lipid impact than the highest doses (600mg).

StrongSupportsVERY_HIGH confidence
Changes in fat mass and plasma high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol were negatively correlated. Sexual function, visual-spatial cognition and mood, and PSA levels did not change significantly at any dose.
Shalender Bhasin et al. · American Journal of Physiology-Endocrinology and Metabolism · 2001

Why this rating

Double-blind, randomized, controlled trial with graded doses.

Source

Testosterone dose-response relationships in healthy young men

Shalender Bhasin et al. · American Journal of Physiology-Endocrinology and Metabolism · 2001

DOI 10.1152/ajpendo.2001.281.6.e1172

rct · n=61Cited 959×
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DOI resolved against Crossref · corpus check 2026-06-10

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