Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth announced Wednesday a new screening program for testosterone deficiency among U.S. military personnel. Under the policy, service members aged 30 and older will undergo annual testosterone testing as part of their required medical screenings. Troops under the age of 30 may volunteer for the testing, and Hegseth stated that any subsequent hormone replacement therapy (HRT) would be voluntary.
The Pentagon stated the initiative is intended to ensure troops remain resilient and capable of meeting the psychological and mental demands of modern combat. Defense officials did not provide specific research underpinning the policy or clarify if female service members would be eligible for hormone evaluations related to perimenopause. The move follows recent proposals by the Food and Drug Administration to ease prescribing limits on testosterone treatments, which were previously restricted to patients with clinical hypogonadism.
Medical experts generally advise against universal testosterone screening, noting that levels fluctuate daily and that therapy is typically recommended only for symptomatic patients with documented low levels. While some NIH studies indicate HRT can improve libido and bone density in older men, researchers found little evidence of improvement in fatigue or memory. Representative Chrissy Houlahan (D-PA) criticized the move as influenced by social media trends and urged that similar resources be made available to servicewomen. Force-wide standards for testosterone use have been a point of contention since 2022, when the Navy began screening SEAL recruits for performance-enhancing substances following a training death.