Skip to main content

Thank you for visiting nature.com. You are using a browser version with limited support for CSS. To obtain the best experience, we recommend you use a more up to date browser (or turn off compatibility mode in Internet Explorer). In the meantime, to ensure continued support, we are displaying the site without styles and JavaScript.

  • News & Views
  • Published:

Science and Society

Testosterone replacement therapy and the knowledge gap

Testosterone replacement therapy use has been increasing; however, a gap exists in patients' understanding of this therapy and its associated risks, and available online resources might not be bridging this gap. Action should be taken to provide patients with accessible credible information.

This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution

Access options

Buy this article

Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout

References

  1. Rao, P. et al. Trends in testosterone replacement therapy use from 2003 to 2013 among reproductive-age men in the United States. J. Urol. 197, 1121–1126 (2017).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  2. Bhasin, S. et al. Testosterone therapy in men with androgen deficiency syndromes: an Endocrine Society clinical practice guideline. J. Clin. Endocrinol. Metab. 95, 2536–2559 (2010).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  3. Araujo, A. et al. Prevalence of symptomatic androgen deficiency in men. J. Clin. Endocrinol. Metab. 92, 4241–4247 (2007).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  4. Gilbert, K., Cimmino, C. B., Beebe, L. C. & Mehta, A. Gaps in patient knowledge about risks and benefits of testosterone replacement therapy. Urology http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.urology.2016.12.066 (2017).

  5. Layton, J. B., Kim, Y., Alexander, G. C. & Emery, S. L. Association between direct-to-consumer advertising and testosterone testing and initiation in the United States, 2009–2013. JAMA 317, 1159–1166 (2017).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  6. McBride, J. A., Carson, C. C. & Coward, R. M. Readability, credibility and quality of patient information for hypogonadism and testosterone replacement therapy on the internet. Int. J. Impot. Res. http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/ijir.2017.4 (2017).

  7. Weiss, B. Health literacy and patient safety. Help patients understand: manual for clinicians. American Medical Association http://med.fsu.edu/userFiles/file/ahec_health_clinicians_manual.pdf (2007).

  8. The Joint Commission. “What did the doctor say?” Improving health literacy to protect patient safety. Joint Commission http://www.jointcommission.org/assets/1/18/improving_health_literacy.pdf (2007).

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Corresponding author

Correspondence to James M. Dupree.

Ethics declarations

Competing interests

J.M.D. declares contract grant support from Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan for his roles with the Michigan Value Collaborative and the Michigan Urologic Surgery Improvement Collaborative. In addition, he owns personal stock in Lipocine Inc. which develops a testosterone product. Y.A.Y. declares no competing interests.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Yi, Y., Dupree, J. Testosterone replacement therapy and the knowledge gap. Nat Rev Urol 14, 332–333 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1038/nrurol.2017.63

Download citation

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/nrurol.2017.63

Search

Quick links

Nature Briefing

Sign up for the Nature Briefing newsletter — what matters in science, free to your inbox daily.

Get the most important science stories of the day, free in your inbox. Sign up for Nature Briefing