Testosterone Levels by Age Chart: What is Normal?

Testosterone Levels by Age Chart: What is Normal?

Your hypothalamus and pituitary gland control the amount of testosterone your gonads (testicles or ovaries) produce and release. Synthetic testosterone is the main drug of masculinizing hormone therapy. However, when you hear people use the term “anabolic steroids” they are generally referring to synthetic (made in a lab) variations of testosterone that are injected into your body. No content on this site, regardless of date, should ever be used as a substitute for direct medical advice from your doctor or other qualified clinician. Men who are truly testosterone deficient should receive replacement therapy. The Institute of Medicine estimates that four to five million men are in this category but that only 5% of them are receiving testosterone. Your doctor might order it if you have symptoms of low or high testosterone.

All data is backed up multiple times a day and encrypted using SSL certificates. Our data entry forms offer an easy, fast, and free way for you to input the reports yourself. Self-entry allows you to add an unlimited number of reports at no cost. We make the self-entry process user-friendly, providing dozens of templates that pre-populate the most popular laboratory panels and offering instant feedback on entered values. Doctors might also recommend lifestyle adjustments, such as exercising more, losing weight, getting more sleep, reducing stress, and eating a healthy diet, Gittens says.

PSA recurrence in men on testosterone therapy should be evaluated in the same fashion as untreated men. A discussion regarding the benefit of stopping testosterone therapy should include the possibility of a decline in PSA. Given the growing concern and need for proper testosterone therapy, the AUA identified a need to produce an evidence-based document that informs clinicians on the proper evaluation and management of testosterone deficient patients. Ultimately, the AUA and the Testosterone Panel were committed to creating a Guideline that ensures that men in need of testosterone therapy are treated effectively and safely. Estrogen is often called the female sex hormone, as it plays an important role in the female reproductive system. Likewise, testosterone is referred to as the male sex hormone for the roles it plays in male sexual development and function.

Because hormone levels change rapidly during puberty and development can occur at different ages for different people, the Tanner scale is a more accurate way to judge changes during puberty than using age. The following tables show typical levels of total testosterone in children and adolescents. In males, the testes produce testosterone, while the ovaries produce testosterone in females.

Make sure your doctor is qualified to talk about hormone testing and treatment, as a lot of primary care doctors aren’t heavily trained in this topic in medical school and prefer not to address it with patients. But the likelihood is you’ll have other symptoms, which would indicate it’s definitely time to consult with your healthcare provider. The researchers also broke the data down into normal levels of free testosterone and bioavailable testosterone. After attaining puberty, between ages 20 to 40 – it is in between 375 to 1075 ng / dL. This age group has the maximum level of testosterone – all through a man’s life. Level effects of taking testosterone ftm testosterone production soon tapers off as you grow older. Also, some research shows that testosterone therapy can increase your risk of heart disease.

Knowing your testosterone level helps monitor your overall well-being and also locate medical conditions at a much early stage. For a boy – right from birth to 10 years of age – testosterone ranges between 8 to 19 nanogram per deciliter (ng / dL). This reflects the lesser need for this hormone at a males’ early years. But as you mature to reach puberty – it hovers at 195 – 975 ng / dL. In other words, men with higher testosterone levels at the start of the study had a lower rate of decrease—or no decrease at all—as they aged. This highlights the importance of maintaining healthy testosterone levels at any age, especially before old age.

However, it’s important to note that optimal or healthy testosterone levels may differ for each individual and can depend on various factors. Diagnosing TDS involves measuring serum testosterone levels, typically in the morning when levels are at their peak. A testosterone level below 300 ng/dL, combined with symptoms, supports the diagnosis. The test’s sensitivity ensures that most cases of TDS are identified, while the NPV helps rule out the condition in men with normal testosterone levels. Patients are encouraged to discuss their symptoms thoroughly with their healthcare provider to ensure an accurate diagnosis. Hypogonadism occurs when the body produces insufficient testosterone, often leading to symptoms such as fatigue, reduced libido, and muscle weakness. This condition can be classified as primary (originating in the testes) or secondary (caused by issues in the hypothalamus or pituitary gland).

Healthcare providers can help you figure out how to interpret your results. Free testosterone is sometimes measured in a different unit — picograms per milliliter (pg/mL). Be sure to check the unit used in your lab results so that you are comparing apples to apples and not apples to oranges. During the past two decades, testosterone levels in American men have rapidly declined.

As noted previously, the harmonization procedure reduces but does not entirely remove the intercohort variation in mean testosterone levels. The observed cross-sectional trend suggesting decrease in testosterone concentrations with age is of lesser magnitude than the corresponding within-individual trend observed previously (31). For each cohort and age range, we obtained simple sample quantiles as estimates of their population counterparts using a method that is median unbiased and robust to statistical transformation (25–27). All population centiles were estimated simultaneously, permitting restriction such that centile curves do not cross (e.g., estimates of the 40th percentile are no greater than those of the 50th at all ages). Key lifestyle modifications support healthy testosterone production, including consuming a nutrient-rich diet with adequate protein and healthy fats, along with regular strength training and cardiovascular exercise. Prioritizing quality sleep of 7-9 hours nightly, managing stress through practices like meditation, and maintaining a healthy weight all work together to optimize hormone production and balance.

One important aspect of study design is the specific endpoints and objective measures used to identify outcomes. Studies are often specifically powered and designed to address a key efficacy endpoint, such as a particular symptom improvement, and not to address secondary symptom improvement or adverse events. When reviewing results from meta-analyses, it is important to recognize that the overall reliability is dependent on the quality of the weakest study included in the analysis. For example, outcomes of meta-analyses using RCTs alone are generally more robust than those that also include cohort studies. Meta-analyses that are limited to only including RCTs may be restricted to a small number of studies and relevant studies may be excluded that could provide sufficient power to make alternative conclusions. This is particularly relevant for the current guideline as it provides context to situations where the pooled odds ratios and mean differences may contradict or fail to support published meta-analyses. Study design is one of the most important aspects of any investigation because it defines the reliability of outcomes and the extent to which they may be extrapolated to other groups.