Hormonal
Generalized testosterone therapy is not recommended for women due to inadequate indications and a lack of long-term safety data, despite evidence of short-term efficacy in specific subgroups like surgically menopausal women.
Do not use testosterone therapy for general wellness, libido, or energy in women unless you are part of a specific, well-defined clinical trial or have a rare condition like surgical menopause where short-term benefits have been weighed against unknown long-term risks. The current medical consensus is that the risks outweigh the benefits for the general female population due to a lack of safety data.
Although evidence exists for short-term efficacy of testosterone in selected populations, such as surgically menopausal women, we recommend against the generalized use of testosterone by women because the indications are inadequate and evidence of safety in long-term studies is lacking (1(QEEE).
Why this rating
The guideline assigns QEEE (very-low-quality evidence) to the recommendation, citing lack of long-term safety data.
Source
Androgen Therapy in Women: An Endocrine Society Clinical Practice Guideline
Margaret E. Wierman et al. · The Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism · 2006
DOI 10.1210/jc.2006-1121
More from this paper
- Current assays for measuring testosterone and free testosterone in women are inadequate due to lack of sensitivity and specificity, necessitating the development of more accurate methods.Limited
- Diagnosing androgen deficiency in women is currently not recommended because there is no well-defined clinical syndrome or normative data on testosterone levels across the lifespan.Weak
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