Low T' and the peril of medicating grumpy old men

Could you have low testosterone?That's the question Abbott Laboratories (now AbbVie) has been urging men to consider with its "Is It Low T?" awareness campaign, a highly effective effort to change how doctors and the public think about managing aging in men.Since 2008, this massive marketing endeavor has targeted middle-aged men who have put on some weight, sometimes feel grumpy or get sleepy after meals, encouraging them to have their testosterone levels tested and to consider treatment if levels are low. It has helped persuade legions of men to take a drug that may not help and may actually do harm for a condition they probably don't have.In a recent article in JAMA Internal Medicine, we described the tactics such campaigns use to sell disease. Since the start of the campaign, testosterone sales, which had been stable for years, have risen more than 1,800%, exceeding $1.9 billion in 2012.By targeting men worried about weight, muscle tone, energy levels, mood and sexual satisfaction, the campaigns imply that treatment will help them become thinner, more muscular, more energetic, less grumpy and more sexually satisfied. But there's a big problem: We really don't know if diagnosing and treating "low T" does any good. More important, there is some evidence it may cause harm. Last month, a new study of men found that older men taking the drug were more likely to have heart attacks. Shortly after the study's release, the Food and Drug Administration&...
Source: PharmaGossip - Category: Pharma Commentators Authors: Source Type: blogs