What are normal testosterone levels? Ages, males, females, and more
Generational decline in testosterone levels observed
Men who are no longer interested in conceiving may benefit from safe, monitored testosterone replacement therapy. Some patients with genetic issues that cause subfertility, such as Klinefelter’s syndrome, may also benefit. Everyone can benefit from an unbiased, listening ear now and then. I’ve referred many patients to see a therapist whose concerns resolve without testosterone therapy. Low-T clinics also tend to overtreat, making blanket recommendations around the patient’s total testosterone and not their individual health needs.
You may also have testosterone testing if you are a transgender man on masculinizing hormone therapy intended to induce and maintain male sex characteristics. Testing is recommended every three months during the first year of therapy as your dose is adjusted. After that, your doctor may suggest monitoring your testosterone levels one to two times per year. This is why doctors should use a combination of total testosterone and free testosterone levels as well as symptoms to assess whether a man is likely to suffer from low testosterone. We need more studies to establish likely symptomatic ranges for men, and laboratories need to base their ranges on research rather than a statistical analysis of populations.
Our team of experienced practitioners understands that low testosterone levels can have a profound impact on a man’s quality of life, leading to symptoms such as fatigue, reduced libido, mood swings, and muscle loss. Beyond statistical significance, clinical relevance is another key factor. In analyzing the literature, it is imperative to determine whether or not statistically significant results are clinically meaningful. At this time, there is no definitive evidence indicating what the optimal time interval should be between the two separate tests. Likewise, while some literature suggests that food ingestion might affect testosterone levels, the evidence is particularly weak, and the Panel does not recommend that clinicians insist on fasting prior to testing. The Panel explicitly uses the term testosterone therapy rather than testosterone replacement therapy or testosterone supplementation to be in keeping with the beliefs of the current thought leaders in the field. Figure 2 illustrates age range–specific testosterone levels based on harmonized measurements, plotted separately for each of the four cohorts.
The Tanner scale tracks the visual development of children during puberty according to five fixed stages rather than a person’s specific age. There is a link between low testosterone and sex drive and fertility across the sex spectrum. The age-matched study was conducted to measure participants at different times and generations, according to Travison.
There was a remarkable concordance in age-adjusted harmonized testosterone levels among men in four geographically distinct cohorts, suggesting that intercohort variation may be influenced by interassay variation. These data show that the cross-calibration of assays using a higher order standard and a higher order assay in a central laboratory provides substantial reduction in intercohort variation. The distribution of harmonized total testosterone values in healthy nonobese young men was very similar between the FHS Generation 3 and the SIBLOS cohorts—2 geographically distinct cohorts. The 2.5th, 5th, 50th, 95th, and 97.5th percentile values in healthy nonobese young men were 264, 303, 531, 852, and 916 ng/dL, respectively (Table 2).
However, your levels generally stay high for the next couple of decades. Just like it can be too low, your testosterone can also be too high, and that’s equally problematic. When your testosterone levels are getting into the 1,000 up to the 1,500 ng/dL range—and staying up there—that’s too high, says McDevitt. “Guys tell me they feel a little anxious, which is completely new,” says McDevitt. “Testosterone has a mood stabilizing effect, so as it decreases, anxiety can arise.” There are a couple of science-backed ways to help you boost testosterone levels naturally.
A testosterone imbalance occurs when there are large and long-term deviations from the above-mentioned healthy levels. Gittens says he sometimes sees patients who are focused on having their testosterone at a certain level—often because of something they’ve read online. “They’re just looking at those numbers, and it can be harmful to patients,” he adds.
Adjustments to therapy type or frequency may also affect the total cost, making personalized consultation important for financial planning. For more details, resources such as TRT Cost Breakdown provide comprehensive insights. Testosterone Replacement Therapy (TRT) can provide several benefits, but individuals must also be aware of potential side effects. Among these are changes in estradiol levels and the possible need for estrogen blockers, which require careful consideration and management. Alternative treatments or additions such as hCG might be considered to preserve fertility while on TRT.
One important aspect of study design is the specific endpoints and objective measures used to identify outcomes. Studies are often specifically powered and designed to address a key efficacy endpoint, such as a particular symptom improvement, and not to address secondary symptom improvement or adverse events. When reviewing results from meta-analyses, it is important to recognize that the overall reliability is dependent on the quality of the weakest study included in the analysis. For example, outcomes of meta-analyses using RCTs alone are generally more robust than those that also include cohort studies. Meta-analyses that are limited to only including RCTs may be restricted to a small number of studies and relevant studies may be excluded that could provide sufficient power to make alternative conclusions. This is particularly relevant for the current guideline as it provides context to situations where the pooled odds ratios and mean differences may contradict or fail to support published meta-analyses. Study design is one of the most important aspects of any investigation because it defines the reliability of outcomes and the extent to which they may be extrapolated to other groups.
All data is backed up multiple times a day and encrypted using SSL certificates. Our data entry forms offer an easy, fast, and free way for you to input the reports yourself. Self-entry allows you to add an unlimited number of reports at no cost. We make the self-entry process user-friendly, providing dozens of templates that pre-populate the most popular laboratory panels and offering instant feedback on entered values. Doctors might also recommend lifestyle adjustments, such as exercising more, losing weight, getting more sleep, reducing stress, and eating a healthy diet, Gittens says.
