Testosterone & Women’s Health: What the Evidence Shows
Author: Dr. Susan Davis, MBBS, FRACP, PhD, FAHMS, NHMRC L3 Investigator Director, Women’s Health Research Program Monash University | Editors: Tashi Stampp and Romina Garcia de leon (blog coordinators)
Published: July 24th, 2026
What role does testosterone play throughout the reproductive years? And what is the trajectory of testosterone throughout the lifespan? Does it decrease during menopause?
- Testosterone is important for the ovaries to produce an egg, for normal body hair, and for many tissues throughout the body including the brain.
- Testosterone is also converted into estrogen throughout the body so it is an important source of estrogen production.
- Testosterone blood levels decline with age until about 60 years after they gradually increase.
- Testosterone blood levels do not appear to change with natural menopause in any study.
We hear mainly about estradiol-based hormone therapy for menopausal symptoms, do some women get testosterone therapy? Is it given alone or in conjunction with estradiol based hormone therapy? And what route of administration is recommended?
Some women receive testosterone for low libido after menopause. Many women are given it for other reasons but all of these are unproven theoretical effects. Testosterone should only be given as a skin based treatment (e.g. as a skin cream or gel but the only formulation approved by regulators is a testosterone cream).
The gels women often are prescribed are for men and women have to best guess the dose. Also, the use of compounded testosterone therapies are not supported by any credible organisations.
If you could share one thing about testosterone that you wish every woman knew, what would it be?
Testosterone treatment is not a “magic bullet” or the “missing hormone”.
