U.S. Military To Test Service Members' Testosterone Levels And Offer Therapy To Qualifiers

According to CNBC, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said last week the U.S. military will begin testing service members' testosterone levels and make replacement therapy available to those who qualify, part of a wider Trump administration push to expand access to testosterone replacement therapies. Prescriptions for the treatment rose from 7.3 million in 2019 to more than 11 million in 2024, according to IQVIA, while the American Urological Association said up to a third of men taking testosterone have never been formally diagnosed with testosterone deficiency. Doctors said testosterone replacement therapy is generally intended for men with clinically diagnosed hypogonadism and can help improve sex drive, erectile dysfunction, muscle mass, bone density, energy and mood in the right patients, but they also cited risks including blood thickening, blood clots, reduced sperm production and other side effects. Experts also said the military's testing plan raises questions because intense training, sleep deprivation and prolonged exertion can temporarily suppress testosterone, and they cautioned that restoring levels in that period has not been shown to improve performance.