Physiological and Psychological Effects of Testosterone On Sport Performance - A Critical Review of Literature
Physiological and Psychological Effects of Testosterone On Sport Performance - A Critical Review of Literature
Physiological and Psychological Effects of Testosterone On Sport Performance - A Critical Review of Literature
P.J. Vanni is a third year Sports Management Doctorate Student at the United States
Sports Academy, an Independent Distributor for Advocare Nutrition Company, and is also
a faculty member in the Health and Physical Education Department at The Haverford
School in Haverford, PA.
Dr. Jordan Moon is the MusclePharm Sports Science Center Research Institute
Director, as well as a Distance Learning Faculty member for the Department of Sports
Exercise Science at The United States Sports Academy.
Introduction
The emergence of testosterone (Te) use in sports has increased drastically since its
inception, spawning a “cat and mouse game” between athletes and regulating bodies.
Once a means for detection is developed, scientists are developing new forms or
compounds of Te which are undetected by current testing or mask increased Te in some
way to make the testing inefficient.
Athletes that can improve their level of play through supraphysiological doses of Te are
willing to risk getting caught because they believe the pros outweigh the cons (20). If an
athlete can avoid getting caught using Te, the benefits to their performance can include
notoriety, increased individual and possibly team success, and increased salaries.
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the body will have an increased effect on the already potent and beneficial outcomes of
natural Te.
As you will see in this review, the effects of Te use in athletes can improve their physical
strength, stature, and possibly performance. Much research has proven the effects of Te
doping on an individual, whether they are an athlete or not; although, these benefits do
not ensure success in certain sports. This review will discuss the endocrinology and
origins of Te, the physiology behind how Te works, the effects, the relationships of these
effects to sports, the ethics of Te use in sports, and the relationship between Te and
sports related skills.
Endocrinology
The endocrine system controls the production and regulation of Te in the body through a
gland known as the gonads. The gonads are ovaries in females and testes in males. In
women, the ovaries are located in the pelvic cavity lateral and superior to the uterus. The
ovaries produce two hormones: progesterone which supports a developing fetus during
pregnancy, and estrogens which stimulate puberty and trigger the development of female
secondary sex characteristics, bone growth, and height changes during adolescence.
The testes are found in the scrotum of males and produce Te. The amount of Te
synthesized is regulated by the chain between the hypothalamus gland, pituitary gland,
and testes.When Te levels are low or when puberty triggers an increased release,
gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) is released by the hypothalamus, which
stimulates the pituitary gland to release follicle stimulating hormone (FSH) and luteinizing
hormone (LH), stimulating ovaries in females and testes in males to synthesize Te. This
chain also works as a regulating feedback. As there are increasing levels of Te, this will
trigger the hypothalamus and pituitary to inhibit the release of GnRH and FSH and LH.
Physiology of Testosterone
There are two main ways in which Te brings about its effects on the body. The first is by
directly activating an androgen receptor and the other is by converting to estradiol, then
activating androgen receptors (33). In body tissues, Te is transported into the cytoplasm
of tissue cells where it binds with androgen receptors. Te can also be broken down in the
cytoplasm to dihydrotestosterone (DHT). This DHT will bind to the androgen receptors
with five times more potency than Te binding. This bonded receptor moves into the cell
nucleus and binds with nucleotide of chromosomal DNA (33). This bonding influences
transcriptional activities, producing the androgen effects.
In the bones, the converted estradiol promotes ossification of cartilage into bone, which in
turn will close epiphyses and bone growth will cease. In the central nervous system,
testosterone is again converted to estradiol. Estradiol, not Te, serves as a vital feedback
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signal to the hypothalamus, especially affecting LH secretion and regulation.
Te is the primary androgen in males, which means it is a substance that maintains and
stimulates male development. During puberty, Te levels spike and are responsible for
many changes, transitioning a boy into a man. These changes include: development of
male sex organs, growth of facial and body hair, deepening of the voice, increase in
height, and increase in muscle mass. Beyond puberty, Te is responsible for maintaining
multiple functions in the body which include maintaining libido, sperm production,
maintaining muscle mass and strength, and promoting healthy bone density.
LITERATURE REVIEW
Athletes have used many different performance enhancing drugs (PED), dating back to
the 19th century in Olympic and professional sports. Even today with the detection tests
that have been developed, there are still instances of athletes testing positive in Olympic,
professional, collegiate, and even high school sports. A 2002 review on the History of
doping by Yesalis and Bahrke (34) highlighted the use of Te as an anabolic steroid. The
authors suggested that the age of anabolic use began with Charles Edouard Brown-
Sequard, who self administered injections that contained blood of the testicular veins,
semen, and juice extracted from a testicle of a dog or guinea pig. Brown-Sequard
described the effects as improvements in physical and mental energy (7). After Brown-
Sequard had taken a month off of the injections, he returned to a prior state of weakness.
Even though many attribute his benefits as the placebo effect, Brown-Sequard
established the value of hormone replacement or supplementation therapy. This report
spawned experiments throughout the Western world involving testicular extracts.
The use of these testicular extracts in athletics came soon after Brown-Sequard’s (7)
report. In an 1896 paper by Zoth (35), he states that “The training of athletes offers an
opportunity for further research in this area and for a practical assessment of our
experimental results.” This served as a prophecy of the future of anabolic steroids in the
20th Century as transplantation of human and animal testicular material became popular
to cure or “rejuvenate” (13, 14). In 1935 this practice ceased as scientists were able to
isolate, chemically characterize, and synthesize the hormone Te and reveal the basic
nature of its anabolic effects. Shortly after, oral and injectable Te was available to the
medical community.
In 1936 it was rumored that the Germans supplemented Te before the 1936 Olympics,
although no proof was found due to the lack of research on Te having an ergogenic effect
on humans (10). Wade (29) alleged that during World War II, German soldiers took Te
before battle to increase aggressiveness. This claim has yet to be documented and
contradicts the belief that the Nazis were opposed to organism-altering drugs. In the
1950s, reports of West Coast bodybuilders using Te for better physique surfaced (32).
Since then, bodybuilding has had strong ties to TE and anabolic use (34).
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The first reports of Te use in sports came from the reports that the Soviet weightlifting
team had used anabolic steroids in the 1950s. Dr. John Ziegler claimed that the Soviet
counterpart actually told him they were taking Te (34). Dr. Ziegler then experimented with
Te on himself and a few other weightlifters at the York Barbell Club. After some of the
weightlifters Dr. Ziegler was working with achieved championship status, news of the
efficiency of this Te usage spread to other strength-intensive sports in the 1960s.
Because anabolic use became so prevalent, urine testing was initiated in the Olympics in
1968 (18). By 1969 athletes were openly praising the effects of Te and anabolic steroids
publicly (8).
The use of Te and anabolic steroids became widespread in Olympic and professional
sports through the 1970s and 1980s (18), so much that the NFL adapted urine testing in
1987. In 1990, the Anabolic Steroid Act was published and usage required a prescription
from a physician. This act and the Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act in 1994
have deterred athletes from illegal anabolic steroids to legal nutritional supplements (18).
In Bowers’ article (6), he points out that “the availability of numerous synthetic steroids
and recombinant peptide hormones has made testing an analytical challenge.” Due to
testing, scientists searched for new compounds and synthetics that can go undetected
and still bring forth the same results. A very popular example of this was the case of the
Bay Area Laboratory Co-Operative (BALCO). BALCO had developed a cream which
contained both Te and epitestosterone; a ratio of the two hormones was used in testing
(27). The administration of both of these hormones caused inefficient data and results in
the drug testing procedures of that time. The discovery of these compounds and their
use in baseball led to the January 2005 changes in MLB’s steroid testing and sanctions
policy. As new testing has been developed, the International Olympic Committee and all
professional sports leagues have issued banned substance lists and adopted the most
recent testing procedures to ensure fair play among the athletes (28).
In 2006, Giannoulis et al. (11) investigated the effects of growth hormone and/or Te in
healthy elderly men. This six month double-blind study consisted of men ages 65-80
grouped into 4 areas: 1) Placebo GH and Te, 2) GH and placebo Te, 3) placebo GH and
Te, or 4) GH and Te. The results of this study were administration of both GH and Te in
older men had more positive effects than the other groups, including increased lean body
mass (P = 0.008), muscle size (P = 0.006), and aerobic capacity (P < 0.001). Notably,
lean body mass did increase with GH administration only as compared to placebo group.
In 2009, Sattler et al. (24) performed a similar investigation to Giannolis et al. (11), testing
the effects of GH and Te administration on elderly men. The sample size in this study
was 122, significantly higher than Giannolis et al. (11), and the methods were slightly
different. All subjects received administration of Te on two tiers, one getting 5g/day, and
the other getting 10g/day. The subjects again were placed into three tiers for each initial
group (six total). The three tiers received administration of GH at 0g/day, 3g/day, and
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5g/day. Sattler et al. (24) investigated the effects of administration on body composition,
muscle strength, aerobic capacity, and hormone assays. The results of this study showed
increases in lean body mass (P < 0.008), maximal muscle strength (P < 0.008), and
aerobic endurance (P < 0.008), and total fat mass decreased for all groups (P = 0.0002).
Sattler’s et al. (24) conclusions are that supplemental Te produced significant gains in
total and appendicular lean mass, muscle strength, and aerobic endurance with
significant reductions in whole-body and trunk fat. Outcomes appeared to be further
enhanced with GH supplementation. These conclusions back Giannolis’ (11) findings in
2006 regarding GH and Te supplementation in older men.
In 1996, Bhasin et al. (3) experimented with the effects of just Te supplementation in
normal men. There were 43 normal men that took part in the study, and were assigned to
one of four groups: placebo with no exercise, Te with no exercise, placebo plus exercise,
and Te plus exercise. The subjects received injections of either 600mg of Te or placebo
weekly for 10 weeks. Subjects in the exercise group took part in a normal routine three
times per week, and all were measured for fat-free mass, muscle size, and strength
before and after the 10 weeks. In the two no-exercise groups, the group receiving doses
of Te showed increases in muscular size and strength (P<0.05). The Te and exercise
group showed increases in fat-free mass, muscle size and strength in comparison to all
other groups (P<0.05). Bhasin et al. (3) concluded that supraphysiologic doses of Te,
especially when combined with strength training, increase fat-free mass, muscle size, and
strength in normal men.
In 2002, Bhasin, Woodhouse, and Storer (4) backed Bhasin et al. (3) by publishing a
review on the proof of the effect of Te on skeletal muscle. The authors report that abuse
of Te by those who use Te supplementation, are based on the assertion that it will help
increase muscle mass and improve skeletal muscle performance, effects that will
translate into improvements in athletic performance. Among other effects of Te listed in
this review that are not pertinent to sports, Bhasin, Woodhouse, and Storer (4) do
highlight body composition, muscle strength, fat metabolism, and athletic performance
which will be discussed in a later section.
Three different studies, not including Bhasin et al. (3) were mentioned as to the effects of
Te on muscular strength and body composition. Collectively the data from the studies
conclude that supraphysiological doses of Te produce increases in fat-free mass and
strength in men. The authors also report that strength training in conjunction with Te
supplementation may augment the effects of androgen on the muscle (3, 31).
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drug users. The long-term consequences of the heavy recruitment of satellite cells on
their proliferative potential and the regenerative capacity of skeletal muscle are unknown”
(15).
In 2006, Cardinale and Stone (9) studied the effect of Te on explosive performance, an
attribute that can be utilized in many sports. Seventy elite athletes (22 women and 48
men) in track and field (sprinters), handball, volleyball, and soccer competing at national
and international levels participated in the study. The idea was to compare resting Te
levels and vertical jumping ability in elite men and women athletes. The results showed
that resting Te levels in women were roughly 90% lower than men (P<0.001), and men’s
vertical jump was 16% higher than women (P<0.001). It was noted that when maximal
lower body strength is adjusted for fat-free mass or body mass, women are as strong as
men. Therefore the positive relationship identified between Te levels and vertical-jumping
ability (P<0.001) supports the idea that Te plays an important role in neuromuscular
function, in this case power movements. This article gives yet another positive effect and
another reason behind athlete’s use of Te supplementation. Meinhardt et al. (19)
supported the results of Cardinale and Stone (9) in regards to body composition and
physical performance, but the participants of this study included 96 recreationally trained
athletes of both sexes.
Haddad et al.’s (12) meta-analysis that assessed the effect of testosterone use on
cardiovascular events and risk factors in men reported that any available evidence weakly
supports the conclusion that Te use in men is not associated with cardiovascular effects.
Therefore, users of Te should be cautioned on the possible long-term cardiovascular
risks that may be linked to, and not yet observed, this supplementation (12, 26). Also
Basaria et al. (2) supports Haddad et al. by reporting that the application of a testosterone
gel was associated with an increased risk of cardiovascular adverse events in his study.
For many years it has been accepted that along with the physiological effects of
testosterone, there are obvious psychological effects that explain moods and behaviors in
human users. The notion of “roid rage” has given an excuse to certain behaviors and
crimes of those who ironically have been supplementing with Te or other steroids. As you
will see, the research has caused quite a controversy.
In 1994, Bjorkqvist, Nygren, Bjorklund, and Bjorkqvist (5) experimented with Te intake and
its effects on aggression. In this double-blind study, 27 men were either given 40mg of
Te, a placebo, or nothing every day for one week. The results revealed a significant
placebo effect. At the end of the week, the placebo group scored higher than the Te and
the control group on self-animated anger, irritation, impulsivity, and frustration (P<0.01).
An explanation behind this may be the lack of natural Te in the Te group due to
homeostatic suppression of release. The authors further point out that these results
suggest that androgen use causes expectations, rather than actual increases in
aggressiveness (5).
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In 1996, another double-blind 10-week study was conducted, this time they increased the
dosage of Te to 600mg per week and included exercise into specific groups (25). Forty-
three men ages 19-40 were assigned into four different groups: placebo no exercise, Te
no exercise, placebo plus exercise, and Te plus exercise. The Multi-Dimensional Anger
Inventory, which includes five different dimensions of anger (inward anger, outward anger,
anger arousal, hostile outlook, and anger eliciting situations), and a Mood Inventory were
completed at the end of the study. At the conclusion, no differences were observed
between exercising and non-exercising and between placebo and Te treated subjects.
These findings back Bjorkqvist et al. (24) in that supraphysiological doses of
testosterone, when administered to normal men in a controlled setting, do not increase
angry behavior (24).
In 2000, Pope, Kouri, and Hudson (23) performed a similar study with somewhat different
results conflicting the previous two articles. This study consisted of 56 men in a
randomized, placebo controlled experiment. All subjects were given doses rising to 600
mg/wk and placebo for six weeks, separated by six weeks of no treatment. Psychiatric
measures included Young Mania Rating Scale, the Point Subtraction Aggression
Paradigm, the Aggression Questionnaire of Buss and Perry, the Symptom Checklist-90-R,
daily diaries of manic and depressive symptoms, and similar weekly diaries completed by
a significant other who knew the participant well. Results showed that testosterone
treatment significantly increased manic scores on the Young Mania Rating Scale
(P=0.002), manic scores on daily diaries (P=0.003), and aggressive responses on the
Point Subtraction Aggression Paradigm (P=0.03). Pope et al. did point out that the
effects, were not uniform across individuals; most showed little psychological change, and
a few developed prominent effects (23).
O’Connor, Archer, Hair, and Wu (21) experimented with the effects of Te on cognitive
function in men. This study consisted of a single-blind placebo-controlled design
involving 30 healthy men and seven hypogonadal men. The healthy men were placed
into two groups, one receiving 200mg Te weekly for eight weeks, the other receiving
200mg sodium chloride weekly for eight weeks. The hypogonadal group received the
physiological replacement dose of 200 mg of Te bi-weekly for eight weeks. All groups
underwent a battery of neurophysiological tests and had Te measured at start, four
weeks, and eight weeks into testing. Results showed that at week four, the Te group
showed decreases in spatial abilities compared to placebo (P<0.01) and performed
significantly better than the placebo group in the measure of verbal fluency (P<0.01). No
significant changes were found on any other tests. These results suggest that Te
supplementation inhibits spatial ability and increases verbal fluency (21).
O’Connor, Archer, Hair, and Wu (21) again experimented with the effects of Te in 2004,
this time studying mood, aggression, and sexual behavior in young men. This double-
blind placebo-controlled study grouped 28 men into one of two treatment groups which
varied the timing of Te injection. The injection consisted of 1000mg of Te undecanoate,
which was a new, long-acting concentration. Mood, self and partner-reported physical
and verbal aggression, anger, hostility, irritability, assertiveness, self-esteem, and sexual
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function were assessed. The results of this research stated that increased circulating Te
was associated with significant increases in anger-hostility from baseline (P<0.05), and Te
treatment did not increase aggressive behavior or induce any changes in non-aggressive
or sexual behavior (P<0.05). These results suggest that supraphysiologic-induced
elevation of circulating Te, to the range likely to be used in hormonal male contraception,
has limited psychological effects.
CONCLUSION
Te use in sport has given researchers plenty of targeted substance matter and fueled
much controversy for over a century. The history of Te started with self-administration of
gonadal material by researcher Charles Edouard Brown-Sequard and has been linked to
Nazi soldier’s use during wartime to increase aggressiveness, and of course has become
extremely popular in bodybuilding and sports.
Abundant research has shown the physiological effects of Te use: increased muscle size
and strength, aerobic endurance, decreased fat mass, faster recovery from high exertion
exercise, and increased muscular power. These effects can translate individually or in
combinations to assist athletes in nearly every sport. The issue researchers have had
was the amount of a dosage that should be used and how frequently a dose should be
taken. Increased doses have shown better potential in enhancing these pre-mentioned
effects, but the extent of any damage done to the body from long-term usage has yet to
be solidified. Whether the pros outweigh the cons is an individual decision that may be
based on individual morals, goals, fears, or ambitions.
APPLICATIONS IN SPORT
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amounts of Te. Athletes need to consult their physician if they are thinking about taking
Te in any capacity and also need to consider the unknown and known health risks and the
possibility of being banned from their sport for life.
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