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FPIN's Clinical Inquiries
From the Family Practice Inquiries Network

Topical Testosterone for Menopausal Symptoms

Kimberly M. Crosby, PharmD
Jennifer R. Weakley, MD
Emrys Moreau, MFA, MLIS

American Family Physician. 2025;111(5):463-464.

Author disclosure: No relevant financial relationships.

KIMBERLY M. CROSBY, PharmD, AND JENNIFER R. WEAKLEY, MD, University of Oklahoma School of Community Medicine, Tulsa

EMRYS MOREAU, MFA, MLIS, Schusterman Library, University of Oklahoma-Tulsa

Address correspondence to Kimberly M. Crosby, PharmD, at kimberly-crosby@ouhsc.edu.

Author disclosure: No relevant financial relationships.

  1. 1.Achilli C, Pundir J, Ramanathan P, et al. Efficacy and safety of transdermal testosterone in postmenopausal women with hypoactive sexual desire disorder: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Fertil Steril. 2017;107(2):475-482.e15.
  2. 2.Raghunandan C, Agrawal S, Dubey P, et al. A comparative study of the effects of local estrogen with or without local testosterone on vulvovaginal and sexual dysfunction in postmenopausal women. J Sex Med. 2010;7(3):1284-1290.
  3. 3.Simon J, Braunstein G, Nachtigall L, et al. Testosterone patch increases sexual activity and desire in surgically menopausal women with hypoactive sexual desire disorder. J Clin Endocrinol Metab. 2005;90(9):5226-5233.
  4. 4.Buster JE, Kingsberg SA, Aguirre O, et al. Testosterone patch for low sexual desire in surgically menopausal women: a randomized trial. Obstet Gynecol. 2005;105(5 pt 1):944-952.
  5. 5.Nachtigall L, Casson P, Lucas J, et al. Safety and tolerability of testosterone patch therapy for up to 4 years in surgically menopausal women receiving oral or transdermal oestrogen. Gynecol Endocrinol. 2011;27(1):39-48.
  6. 6.El-Hage G, Eden JA, Manga RZ. A double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled trial of the effect of testosterone cream on the sexual motivation of menopausal hysterectomized women with hypoactive sexual desire disorder. Climacteric. 2007;10(4):335-343.
  7. 7.Fernandes T, Costa-Paiva LH, Pedro AO, et al. Efficacy of vaginally applied estrogen, testosterone, or polyacrylic acid on vaginal atrophy: a randomized controlled trial. Menopause. 2016;23(7):792-798.

Clinical Inquiries provides answers to questions submitted by practicing family physicians to the Family Physicians Inquiries Network (FPIN). Members of the network select questions based on their relevance to family medicine. Answers are drawn from an approved set of evidence-based resources and undergo peer review. The strength of recommendations and the level of evidence for individual studies are rated using criteria developed by the Evidence-Based Medicine Working Group (https://www.cebm.net).

The complete database of evidence-based questions and answers is copyrighted by FPIN. If interested in submitting questions or writing answers for this series, go to https://www.fpin.org or email questions@fpin.org.

Copyright © Family Physicians Inquiries Network. Used with permission.

This series is coordinated by John E. Delzell Jr., MD, MSPH, associate medical editor.

A collection of FPIN’s Clinical Inquiries published in AFP is available at https://www.aafp.org/afp/fpin.

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