From the Research
Current Indications for Prescribing Injectable Testosterone to Women
The current indications for prescribing injectable testosterone to women are limited and guided by specific clinical guidelines.
- Loss of sexual desire with associated personal distress is currently the only agreed-on indication for judicious testosterone supplementation for postmenopausal women 1.
- The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence guideline recommends considering testosterone supplementation for women with low sexual desire if hormone replacement therapy (HRT) alone has been ineffective 2.
- Testosterone supplementation can be considered for menopausal women with low sexual desire if hormone replacement therapy alone is not effective, as stated in the NICE Guidelines published in 2015 3.
Safety and Prescribing Practices
There is concern that testosterone is being prescribed without proper diagnostic evaluation and for unproven medical conditions 4.
- The physiology of testosterone as a normal female hormone is poorly understood, leading to unregulated and dangerous prescribing practices by physicians and other health care professionals 5.
- There is a need for more research and safer, regulated products to prescribe, as well as a greater understanding of the potential provider-level and system-level factors that contribute to current prescribing practices 4.