U.S. Special Operations Forces (SOF) are at increased risk of multiple mild traumatic brain injury (mmTBI). Testosterone was prescribed for several participants in a VA program designed to address sequelae of mmTBI for SOF.
OBJECTIVE:
To determine testosterone prevalence in the Palo Alto VA Intensive Evaluation and Treatment Program (IETP) and observe for association between testosterone and neurobehavioral outcomes.
METHODS:
A retrospective cohort study included patients in the Palo Alto VA IETP. Sociodemographic data, testosterone blood levels, and neurobehavioral outcomes were collected from medical records.
RESULTS:
55 IETP participants were included: six were testosterone users; the rest were classified as non-users. Testosterone use in this population is 11%, higher than reported national averages in the U.S. Of the 6 testosterone users, 2 (33%) had a formal diagnosis of hypogonadism prior to initiation of testosterone. Neurobehavioral outcome scores between testosterone users and non-users failed to show statistically significant differences, except for the PROMIS pain score, which was higher in the testosterone user population.
CONCLUSION:
The current study did not find an association between mmTBI, testosterone use, or testosterone level and neurobehavioral outcomes. This study highlights a need to further examine the relationship between hypogonadism, mmTBI, SOF culture around testosterone, and the effects of testosterone use in this population.
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