Midlife Women Are Clamoring for Testosterone. Does It Work?
In an article updated by Danielle Friedman for NYTimes.com, 6 February 2025, demand for the hormone testosterone is surging, and not just to treat libido. Here’s what we know about its benefits and potential risks. (I have included excerpts.)
Across the country, women’s health providers have reported a similar surge in recent months, sparked by menopause influencers on Instagram and TikTok who promote testosterone’s wellness benefits.
While decades of evidence suggest that low doses of testosterone can increase some women’s sexual desire with few side effects, some proponents are overstating the drug’s ability to boost mood, cognition, muscle strength, and heart health, they said, and underplaying its potential risks.
Why do women need testosterone? While men have about 10 times as much testosterone as women, the hormone plays an important role in reproductive health for both sexes, said Dr. Susan Davis, an endocrinologist at Monash University in Australia, and one of the world’s leading researchers on women and sex hormones. In women, it is primarily produced by the ovaries and adrenal glands, and helps produce an egg each menstrual cycle, among other things.
Beyond reproduction, though, researchers are still trying to figure out how testosterone affects women’s health. They are intrigued by the fact that women have testosterone receptors all over the body — including the heart, brain, muscles, and bones — which suggests that it is linked to the health of these organs, Dr. Davis said, but we aren’t sure yet why or how.
How can taking testosterone improve your health? For some postmenopausal women diagnosed with low sexual desire, taking a low dose of testosterone can improve libido, including arousal, orgasm, and the frequency of what researchers call “satisfying sexual events.”
It improves sexual health in about 50 percent of women who try it, but it’s not like “whammo bammo,” Dr. Kagan said — the effects are usually subtle. This is partly because women’s sexual function is complex, and libido can be affected by many factors: aches and pains, depression, and your relationship with your sexual partner, among other things, said Dr. Lauren Streicher, a clinical professor of obstetrics and gynecology at Northwestern University, who specializes in women’s sexual health.
“I can’t argue with how people feel,” Dr. Streicher said. But, for now, “the data does not support that it is going to increase your general sense of well-being.”
What are the risks? When taken at doses that raise your testosterone levels no higher than what’s typically seen in premenopausal women, side effects are rare, said Dr. James Simon, a menopause and sexual medicine specialist in Washington, D.C., and clinical professor at The George Washington University School of Medicine. Your health care provider will likely want to test your levels a few weeks after starting the drug to make sure they’re not getting too high. If your testosterone levels are too high for too long, however, you may experience side effects — some reversible, some not.
Midlife Women Are Clamoring for Testosterone. Does It Work? (Requires subscription to The New York Times)