Pentagon 'temporarily rescinds' Pete Hegseth’s controversial new testosterone guidelines
WASHINGTON, DC: The Pentagon put out new guidelines requiring testosterone deficiency screening for male service members 30 and older but then pulled them from its website just a day later, a US official said.
These guidelines followed a mid-July order from Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, who wanted testosterone checks added to the annual health exams for active-duty and reserve men in that age group. He made it clear that if a doctor recommended testosterone replacement therapy, it’d be the service member’s choice to move forward with it or not.
A draft posted by mistake, an official says
The announcement drew criticism from some medical experts who questioned the need for such testing and treatment.
On Wednesday, September 2, the Pentagon issued a press release from Sean Parnell, the Pentagon’s top spokesman, that “the Director of the Defense Health Agency issued comprehensive clinical guidance to the Military Departments and medical care providers," setting up “uniform screening and treatment pathways” in the military’s medical system for testosterone treatment.
The press release included links to three documents posted on the DHA’s website providing specific medical and clinical guidance, but by the next day, the guidelines had been removed from the website.
“The 'Interim Guidance on Testosterone Deficiency Screenings for Active Duty and Reserve Component Personnel' remains in effect. The final clinical guidance will be issued shortly,” said the official.
In addition to providing specifics for male testing, the guidelines also provided guidance that female service members be asked about fatigue and disrupted menstrual cycles that could be associated with hormonal dysregulation.
No other reason was offered as to why the guidance had been "temporarily rescinded," but on Friday, a top advisor to Hegseth described the document shared on the website as a "draft" that had been "inadvertently" posted.
A policy already under scrutiny
Low testosterone levels have been a concern in the military, particularly in the special operations community, where high stress, extreme physical labor, paired with not getting enough calories, could negatively impact testosterone levels, though research is still ongoing.
A very small percentage of men do suffer from testosterone deficiency. However, some doctors say they are concerned that the online popularity of "Low-T" as a medical problem creates a false impression that this is a bigger problem than it really is and that there is insufficient evidence to support wide screening in men without symptoms.
Pulling the guidance so suddenly just adds more confusion to an already debated policy.
