According to a study in the journal PLOS ONE, the occurrence of testosterone replacement therapy use in men in Ontario aged 66 and older rose 310 per cent between 1997 and 2012, despite a lack of evidence stating that the treatment is safe or effective.
“In 2012, we found that approximately one of every 90 older men in Ontario was being treated with a testosterone product, which is very high,” says Tara Gomes, lead author of the study and a scientist at the Institute for Clinical and Evaluative Sciences and St. Michael’s Hospital in Toronto, where the study was conducted.
Since 2006, the only instance in which testosterone treatments are reimbursed by Ontario’s drug plan is in patients diagnosed with hypogonadism, a condition where the body does not produce enough testosterone due to a problem in the testes or the pituitary gland, although only six per cent of men who were taking testosterone had been diagnosed with the condition.
“We did see an initial drop in the use of the products, four to six months after this policy came into place, but it quickly changed direction after that time, and by 2010 the rates had far exceeded what they were at any other previous point in the study period,” says Gomes.
Drug companies have promoted testosterone products as a way to keep hormone levels up during the aging process. Low testosterone levels can cause a loss of libido, lack of energy, reduced muscle mass, mood swings and disturbed sleep.
Meanwhile, evidence suggests that testosterone replacement therapies could raise the risk of heart attack, stroke and other cardiovascular problems in some men. Health Canada has responded by issuing an advisory alerting the public that it is updating safety information about the testosterone products available for sale in Canada, although the studies remain inconclusive.
