Do women have a testosterone problem? Social media influencers believe they do. And with the rise of telemedicine and testosterone replacement clinics opening up across the country, access to the drug has never been easier. In the U.
S., prescriptions for testosterone increased nearly 50% between 2013 and 2023, according to recent data from the health technology company IQVIA. Doctors say interest in the hormone isn’t being driven only by men, but also by women in their 40s and 50s.
“It feels almost like an epidemic,” Dr. Rebecca Dunsmoor-Su, chief medical officer for Gennev, a national telemedicine company for menopause patients, said about middle-age women seeking testosterone. “They’re being told this is the miracle-drug pill that they’ve been looking for.
” Because patients are often prescribed testosterone gels, pellets or pills through med-spas and telemedicine, there could be even more women taking the hormone than realized, Dunsmoor-Su said. Testosterone is the primary male sex hormone and plays a variety of roles in the human body. In men, testosterone boosts muscle mass, sex drive and deepening of the voice.
In women, who also have testosterone generally in much lower levels, it also plays a role in libido, muscular health and energy. Typically, testosterone levels in men are around 15 times higher than in women . In both women and men, it’s normal for testosterone levels to drop with age — starting at about age 30 in men and around 40 in women.
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