RFK Jr.'s Health Department Is Pondering a National Men's Health Initiative

"Participants in Wednesday's FDA panel-which included federal health officials, urologists, experts on male sexual health, and the CEO of a TRT pharmaceutical company-voiced support for expanding the eligibility criteria for TRT and removing testosterone from the FDA's controlled substances list. Earlier this year, the FDA held a similar panel on hormone replacement therapy for menopausal women and announced in November that it would remove a black box warning from the medications."

"During the panel discussion, Christine called attention to men's health more broadly, pointing out the widening gender gap in life expectancy in the US and that 44 percent of men surveyed in 2023 didn't get an annual physical. While rates of depression are similar among men and women, men are much less likely to seek treatment despite suicide rates in the US being much higher in men. Substance abuse compounds that problem, he said, with the majority of opioid overdoses occurring in men."

The Department of Health and Human Services is weighing a federal men's health initiative and proposals for Men's Health Centers of Excellence to collaborate, share information, and generate data to shape policy and programs. Brian Christine called for a national strategy during an FDA panel on testosterone replacement therapy (TRT). Panel participants supported expanding TRT eligibility and removing testosterone from the FDA's controlled substances list. The FDA recently reviewed hormone replacement therapy for menopausal women and removed a black box warning. Data show a widening gender gap in life expectancy, 44 percent of men skipped annual physicals in 2023, and men face higher suicide and opioid overdose rates despite similar depression prevalence.

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