Affiliations: [a] Polytrauma System of Care, VA Palo Alto Healthcare System, Palo Alto, CA, USA
| [b]
Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Stanford School of Medicine, Redwood City, CA, USA
Correspondence:
[*]
Address for correspondence: Nathan Barnett, MD, Shepherd Center, 2020 Peachtree Rd NW, Atlanta, GA 30309, USA. E-mail: NathanB012@gmail.com; ORCiD ID: https://orcid.org/0009-0002-2593-3141.
Abstract: BACKGROUND: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.
