{"id":939249,"date":"2026-07-16T17:08:14","date_gmt":"2026-07-16T17:08:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/939249\/"},"modified":"2026-07-16T17:08:14","modified_gmt":"2026-07-16T17:08:14","slug":"military-to-require-testosterone-screening-do-healthy-men-need-it","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/939249\/","title":{"rendered":"Military to require testosterone screening \u2014 do healthy men need it?"},"content":{"rendered":"

US troops ages 30 and up will get tested for testosterone levels annually, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth Pete Hegseth announced Wednesday<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The new T check would be added to an existing annual physical for military members. Hegseth says by \u201caddressing these health markers early, we\u2019re keeping [troops] on the leading edge of lethality.\u201d<\/p>\n

It\u2019s true that men begin experiencing a gradual drop in testosterone starting earliest at age 30<\/a>, though for most men, it\u2019s later, around age 40<\/a>. By age 50-55, symptoms of low T may become more obvious.<\/p>\n

But do men actually need routine testing \u2014\u00a0especially if they aren\u2019t exhibiting any symptoms?<\/p>\n

Hegseth announced the new annual tests in a video posted to X Wednesday. Secretary of War Pete Hegseth\/X<\/p>\n

This automatic annual check goes against recommendations from several medical bodies, including the American Urological Association<\/a> and the Endocrine Society<\/a>, who say doctors should not measure T in patients who don\u2019t have symptoms.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe recommend against routine screening of men in the general population for hypogonadism,\u201d reads the Endocrine Society\u2019s official recommendations. <\/p>\n

Also, beginning screenings at 30 is cited by some experts as young.<\/p>\n

\u201cAge 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,\u201d said Dr. Raj Patel, a urologist at Associated Urological Specialists<\/a>, told The Post.<\/p>\n

He notes, though, that troops have unique demands that may \u201cappropriately differ from the general population.\u201d<\/p>\n

In fact, Dr. Justin Houman<\/a> told The Post he thinks the new testing could even be a \u201cwelcome step.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThirty is actually a sensible starting point, not too young at all,\u201d said Houman, a board-certified urologist and men\u2019s health specialist\u00a0at Tower Urology at Cedars-Sinai. \u201cSince 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.\u201d<\/p>\n

Houman points to symptoms beyond just sex drive \u2014 testosterone affects mood, focus, muscle, bone density and red blood cell production.<\/p>\n

Hegseth says the testosterone test will help keep troops on \u201cthe leading edge of lethality.\u201d \u041c\u0438\u0445\u0430\u0438\u043b \u0420\u0435\u0448\u0435\u0442\u043d\u0438\u043a\u043e\u0432 \u2013 stock.adobe.com<\/p>\n

\u201cRecent data suggests roughly 1 in 4 men over 30 has low testosterone, yet only about 1 in 20 recognizes symptoms, meaning many men are quietly living below their potential without ever connecting the dots,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

This new testosterone check could be great for people who actually aren\u2019t producing enough testosterone and would\u2019ve otherwise gone undiagnosed, Patel said. It could improve their quality of life dramatically.<\/p>\n

But he worries about overdiagnoses.<\/p>\n

As many as 11 million Americans are on testosterone replacement therapy, or TRT. Recent research shows as few as 12% of men on TRT<\/a> met standards for prescribing T \u2014 the other 88% were given the drug inappropriately.<\/p>\n

Some of the emblematic symbols of low T could be symptoms of other health conditions that require different treatment.<\/a><\/p>\n

Hegseth says the testosterone test will help keep troops on \u201cthe leading edge of lethality.\u201d Here, he meets with troops on USS Boxer in Singapore. C-SPAN<\/p>\n

Testing testosterone levels via a blood test is required for a TRT prescription. That blood test is \u201clow-risk, inexpensive and easy to fold into a routine physical,\u201d Houman said.<\/p>\n

But a low T level alone \u201cdoesn\u2019t automatically mean someone needs treatment,\u201d said Patel.<\/p>\n

\u201cTestosterone replacement therapy has important risks and requires ongoing monitoring, including effects on fertility, red blood cell counts, prostate health and potential cardiovascular risk,\u201d Patel said. \u201cThe goal should be treating a medical condition \u2014 not optimizing performance in otherwise healthy individuals.\u201d<\/p>\n

Testosterone can<\/a> stimulate prostate growth and make existing cancer there worse, or stimulate too much red blood cell production, forming a clot that could be deadly.<\/p>\n

Experts say the physical and mental demands of military life may warrant earlier screening. Secretary of War Pete Hegseth\/Instagram<\/p>\n

Testosterone-boosting drugs also carry risks to fertility by limiting your body\u2019s natural production of testosterone. This can result in decreased sperm count and shrunken testicles. TRT could permanently<\/a> affect the production of sperm.<\/p>\n

Houman agrees that monitoring is essential. \u201cTestosterone therapy is safe and effective when it\u2019s genuinely indicated, but it\u2019s a medical decision that should be individualized and monitored, not applied reflexively,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

If they\u2019re found to be low in T, troops can choose whether they want to take testosterone replacement therapy under the new policy.<\/p>\n

Houman also encourages men even younger than 30 to get screened if they\u2019re symptomatic. Hegseth\u2019s new test will be available, but not required, for troops younger than 30.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhile we invest heavily in our weapon systems, platforms and gear, our most decisive tactical advantage will always be the individual warfighter,\u201d Hegseth said. \u201cWe have a sacred duty to maintain that advantage, which is why we must constantly look for new ways to optimize your performance, your resilience and your long-term health.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"US troops ages 30 and up will get tested for testosterone levels annually, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth Pete…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":939250,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[35],"tags":[6335,210,1141,1142,22678,9480,1802,102350,6986,80,46714,67,132,68,1154],"class_list":["post-939249","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-health-care","tag-exclusive","tag-health","tag-health-care","tag-healthcare","tag-hormones","tag-mens-health","tag-military","tag-military-spending","tag-pete-hegseth","tag-politics","tag-testosterone","tag-united-states","tag-unitedstates","tag-us","tag-us-news"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/939249","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=939249"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/939249\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/939250"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=939249"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=939249"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=939249"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}