Military to require testosterone screening but do healthy men actually need it?

US troops ages 30 and up will get tested for testosterone levels annually, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth Pete Hegseth announced Wednesday.The new T check would be added to an existing annual physical for military members.Hegseth says by “addressing these health markers early, we’re keeping [troops] on the leading edge of lethality.”It’s true that men begin experiencing a gradual drop in testosterone starting earliest at age 30, though for most men, it’s later, around age 40.

By age 50-55, symptoms of low T may become more obvious.But do men actually need routine testing — especially if they aren’t exhibiting any symptoms?This automatic annual check goes against recommendations from several medical bodies, including the American Urological Association and Endocrine Society, who say doctors should not measure T in patients who don’t have symptoms.“We recommend against routine screening of men in the general population for hypogonadism,” reads the Endocrine Society’s official recommendations.Thirty, too, is cited by some experts as young.“Age 30 is earlier than we would typically screen the general population because clinically significant testosterone deficiency is relatively uncommon in otherwise healthy men at that age,” said Dr.

Raj Patel, a urologist at Associated Urological Specialists, told The Post.He notes, though, that troops have unique demands that may “appropriately differ from the general population.” In fact, Dr.Justin Houman told The Post he thinks the new testing could even be a “welcome step.”“Thirty is actually a sensible starting point, not too young at all,” said Houman, a board-certified urologist and men’s health specialist at Tower Urology at Cedars-Sinai.

“Since the prevalence of low testosterone in this age group is meaningfully high while symptom awareness is low, 30 is precisely when establishing a baseline becomes valuable.”Houman points to symptoms beyond just sex drive — testosterone aff...