Position Statement Clarifies Benefits of Testosterone Therapy for Women

Testosterone can be used for postmenopausal women with hypoactive sexual desire dysfunction (HSDD) but is not recommended for other symptoms or medical conditions, according to a position statement published online in the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism.

Susan R. Davis, Ph.D., M.B.B.S., from Monash University in Melbourne, Australia, and colleagues developed a position statement to inform health care professionals of the benefits and potential risks of testosterone therapy for women.

The authors noted that data are insufficient regarding the use of testosterone in premenopausal women for treatment of sexual function or any other outcome. For naturally or surgically postmenopausal women with HSDD, testosterone therapy in doses that approximate physiological testosterone concentrations for premenopausal women exert a beneficial effect on sexual function. These recommendations cannot be generalized to other subtypes of female sexual dysfunction or women without sexual dysfunction. There is insufficient evidence to support the use of testosterone to enhance cognitive performance or delay cognitive decline in postmenopausal women. No effect was seen for testosterone therapy on general well-being or on depressed mood.

"This position statement has far-reaching global consequences," Davis said in a statement. "It not only reassures clinicians that a trial of testosterone therapy is appropriate for women with HSDD, but very emphatically states that, at present, the available evidence does not support the use of testosterone for any other symptoms or medical condition."

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