Growing concerns over testosterone and ‘manosphere’ influencers is prompting experts to speak out against misinformation.
Influencers already have a reputation in healthcare for swaying patients in the wrong direction, and testosterone treatment is the latest on the misinformation menu.
Research from the University of Copenhagen has revealed that social media posts about ‘low testosterone’ are harming patient discourse when it comes to hormone levels and how it should be treated.
“Mass screening for low testosterone is clinically unwarranted as a large proportion of healthy men have low testosterone levels but without any symptoms,” the study reads.
“Social media posts are framing testosterone testing and treatment as remedies for a perceived masculinity crisis, presenting empowering calls for men to respond to symptoms or issues by pursuing medical intervention.
“These medicalisation narratives predominantly target younger men, aged 20 to 40, and offer them choices to gain youth, muscular appearance, and heightened sexual function.”
A lack of clinical engagement on the prevalence of enhancement drugs has also been attributed to this concerning trend.
“What that’s done is left a real vacuum, and obviously people have come to fill it, and that just happens to be influencers and people with commercial interests,” honorary senior research fellow from the University of Queensland Dr Timothy Piatkowski told The Medical Republic.
“This really just highlights a critical opportunity to improve our public health messaging and do a better job of partnering with what evidence says, what lived experience and people’s narratives speak to and then actually reducing harm.
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“The space is being left to commercial, ideological actors. [Patients are] taken advantage of by a scare tactic campaign that doesn’t really provide a solution.”
This narrative is having impact in Australia; RACGP child and young person’s health spokesman Dr Tim Jones said he had noted a growing interest in testosterone among his younger male patients.
However, GPs have come out to clarify that whilst this narrative is harmful it should not warrant reforms that would inhibit those with diagnosed testosterone disorders from accessing effective care.
“I don’t think the issue is testosterone, per se, because there are a group of men with, very important low testosterone, who do deserve treatment without too many barriers and deserve no sting,” Dr Jones told TMR.
“The regulation side is around what is direct to consumer marketing of medical products, because Australia has always had strict laws about that, but our online communities and social media has been getting around that.”
Testosterone marketing has also attracted criticism for how it misinforms the public on what are classified as ‘secondary testosterone deficiencies’ or testosterone suppression.
These conditions have been attributed to uprise in social media testosterone advice, with said conditions coming because of lifestyle factors such sleep deprivation excessive stress or alcohol.
“Those people are not best treated by putting them on testosterone, those people will receive excellent results if they can work on those lifestyle factors,” Dr Jones told TMR.
