SAT-153 Discordance Between Clinic Practice Versus Recommended Treatment of Male Hypogonadism: Results of a Global and Multi-Lingual Content Analysis

Abstract Disclosure: B. Grant: None. N. Lakshitha de Silva: None. M. Gumssani: None. O. Quinton: None. F. Kayali: None. W.S. Dhillo: None. C.N. Jayasena: None. Context: Worldwide testosterone prescriptions for men have increased markedly during the last two decades. This is partially due to testosterone-seeking behaviour by men who seek non-evidence-based treatments e.g. testosterone prescribing without low serum testosterone, microdosing, or testosterone secretagogues as first-line treatment. Clinic websites constitute the major public information source on male hypogonadism. It is not known to what extent this information corresponds with current international clinical practice guidelines for treating male hypogonadism. Methods: Virtual private networks (VPN) web-searches were conducted within Argentina, Australia, India, South Africa, United Kingdom, United Arab Emirates, and USA using pre-defined terms. Searches were conducted in English, Hindi, Spanish and Arabic using three major platforms (Google, Yahoo and Bing). A coding frame was developed using validated, content-analysis methodology. Identified content was evaluated against consensus topics from international clinical guidelines on male hypogonadism. Results: Data were extracted from 253 eligible websites. Most (139/253; 54.9) websites were USA-based, and almost half (116/253; 45.8%) were ‘Men’s Health Clinics’. Non-guidelines-based advice was observed in the following numbers of websites : improved energy or fatigue (160/253; 63.2%), use of the term “andropause” as alternative diagnosis to male hypogonadism (95/253; 37.6%); use of testosterone secretagogues e.g. selective oestrogen receptor modulators or gonadotrophins, with or instead of testosterone treatment (44/253; 17.8%); micro-dosing of testosterone recommended or offered (30/253; 11.9%); offering testosterone treatment to men with a serum total testosterone >12nmol/L (348ng/dL) (25/253, 9.9%); anti-aging benefits (25/253, 9.9%); using non-testosterone androgens e.g. dihydrotestosterone / dehydroepiandrosterone (17/253; 6.7%); finger-prick self-testing (12/253; 4.7%). Discussion: Our global and multi-lingual study has appraised the accuracy of information on testosterone treatment which is available to the population. Our study reveals that publicly available clinic-information on male hypogonadism is frequently inaccurate. Addressing the accuracy of publicly assessable online data may offer a simple approach to reducing inappropriate patient testosterone prescriptions and improving the quality of healthcare for symptomatic men with low testosterone. Presentation: Saturday, July 12, 2025