Reference ranges for testosterone in men generated using LC–MS/MS in healthy non-obese young men (Framingham Heart Study)
This is a widely cited reference-range study. Bhasin et al. measured total testosterone by liquid chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry in healthy, non-obese men aged 19–40 in the Framingham Heart Study, then tested the resulting cut-off in three other cohorts.
Focus
Reference ranges
Published finding
456
Source
10.1210/jc.2010-3012
Record
Ref 15
Structured abstract
Method
This is a widely cited reference-range study. Bhasin et al. measured total testosterone by liquid chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry in healthy, non-obese men aged 19–40 in the Framingham Heart Study, then tested the resulting cut-off in three other cohorts.
Result
In 456 healthy young men, mean total testosterone was 723.8 ng/dL and the median 698.7 ng/dL. The 2.5th percentile — the lower limit used clinically — was 348.3 ng/dL; for free testosterone 70 pg/mL. Men below these limits more often had slow walking speed, difficulty climbing stairs, frailty and diabetes. In the European Male Ageing Study, men below the limits more often reported sexual symptoms.
What to take with you
Healthy non-obese men 19–40: mean 723.8 ng/dL. The 2.5th percentile — the lower limit labs use — was 348.3 ng/dL. It describes a reference population, not a treatment target.
Why it matters
Healthy non-obese men 19–40: mean 723.8 ng/dL. The 2.5th percentile — the lower limit labs use — was 348.3. A lower limit is a percentile, not a treatment target.
Study frame
Reference ranges
This is a widely cited reference-range study. Bhasin et al. measured total testosterone by liquid chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry in healthy, non-obese men aged 19–40 in the Framingham Heart Study, then tested the resulting cut-off in three other cohorts.
Finding
In 456 healthy young men, mean total testosterone was 723.8 ng/dL and the median 698.7 ng/dL.
Contrast
The 2.5th percentile — the lower limit used clinically — was 348.3 ng/dL; for free testosterone 70 pg/mL.
Context
Men below these limits more often had slow walking speed, difficulty climbing stairs, frailty and diabetes.
DOI
10.1210/jc.2010-3012
Category
Reference ranges
Findings listed
4
Type
As published
What to take from the numbers
Boxes below use only wording already in the published summary for this study.
Reported finding
456
In 456 healthy young men, mean total testosterone was 723.8 ng/dL and the median 698.7 ng/dL.
Reported finding
2.5
The 2.5th percentile — the lower limit used clinically — was 348.3 ng/dL; for free testosterone 70 pg/mL.
Reported finding
3
Men below these limits more often had slow walking speed, difficulty climbing stairs, frailty and diabetes.
A reference range is a statistical description of a contemporary population, not a threshold for who benefits from treatment; the authors themselves ask for prospective validation.
Why it matters when reading your own result
Pulled from the study's own findings.
In 456 healthy young men, mean total testosterone was 723.8 ng/dL and the median 698.7 ng/dL.
Reference ranges
The 2.5th percentile — the lower limit used clinically — was 348.3 ng/dL; for free testosterone 70 pg/mL.
Reference ranges
Men below these limits more often had slow walking speed, difficulty climbing stairs, frailty and diabetes.
Reference ranges
Clinical reading
How to use this page
This is a widely cited reference-range study. Bhasin et al. measured total testosterone by liquid chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry in healthy, non-obese men aged 19–40 in the Framingham Heart Study, then tested the resulting cut-off in three other cohorts.
Related studies in this library
New England Journal of Medicine · 2010
Identification of late-onset hypogonadism in middle-aged and elderly men
BJU International · 2015
Hypogonadal symptoms in young men are associated with a serum total testosterone threshold of 400 ng/dL
Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism 91: 4335–4343 · 2006
Association of specific symptoms and metabolic risks with serum testosterone in older men
Your own numbers
Measure before you decide what this page means for you.
The figures here describe men who were actually measured.
- Total testosterone and SHBG
- Symptoms written down
- Haematocrit as a safety baseline
- Repeat labs before any protocol change