Fatigue, loss of libido, lack of motivation – many men are familiar with these symptoms, but few connect them to a testosterone deficiency. Even fewer receive proper medical treatment.
That this can be changed is made clear by a recent milestone: Over 1500 men are now actively receiving treatment from the independent cooperating doctors with whom Adon Health works.
This figure represents more than just quantitative growth. It underscores increased awareness, a genuine need, and growing trust in modern healthcare. What does this mean for patients, for the medical landscape in Germany, and for the future of men's health?
When symptoms are taken seriously
Testosterone deficiency is often diagnosed late or not at all. The symptoms remain vague, and the consequences are far-reaching. They affect physical well-being as well as mental health and quality of life.
Those who ultimately seek medical help often encounter structural obstacles such as a lack of expertise, long waiting times, or long distances.
Adon Health addresses these problems with a digital, user-friendly healthcare model. Users can conveniently perform lab tests at home, document symptoms, and receive a structured overview of their health data. Subsequent care is provided by independent, licensed physicians specializing in the treatment of hormonal disorders. Adon Health itself does not perform medical treatments but provides the technical infrastructure and organizational support for guideline-compliant care.
Internal feedback indicates that this approach is being well received. An anonymized evaluation provides initial insights into how men subjectively experience the treatment: After seven months, they report an average symptom improvement of 47.7 percent.
These feedback reports provide initial insights into perceived changes in areas such as drive, energy, mood and libido, and are consistent with published scientific evidence regarding symptom improvement after starting TRT ( Saad F et al, 2011 ).
Why digital access works
The fact that over 1,500 men are currently undergoing therapy also has a geographical dimension. A significant proportion of these patients live in regions with a low density of men's health specialists. Around 44 percent of the patients of our partner physicians come from rural areas, even though only about 9 percent of the population lives there. This distribution demonstrates that Adon Health's model reaches precisely those who would otherwise have little or no access to care.
More on healthcare provision outside urban centers: Why digital healthcare is in demand, especially in rural areas
scientifically supported therapeutic approach
The available studies also confirm that guideline-compliant testosterone replacement therapy can significantly improve the health-related quality of life in men with confirmed hypogonadism.
A meta-analysis by Nian et al. (2017) indicates significant improvements in symptoms during medically supervised testosterone replacement therapy in areas such as libido, mood, muscle strength and general well-being.
The Endocrine Society guideline (Bhasin et al., 2018) explicitly recommends testosterone therapy when a clinically confirmed deficiency is present. At the same time, it emphasizes that careful diagnostics and individual assessment are essential. Risk factors such as existing prostate disease, sleep apnea, or infertility must be taken into account.
Create access for more men
The success with over 1500 men treated clearly shows that the care works. But many more men are still waiting for access.
Currently, the service is only available to privately insured or self-paying patients. However, the need extends far beyond this. Therefore, Adon Health is working with SBK on a pilot project for statutory health insurance. This project is based on their winning the sixth Healthy Hub Pitch competition.
The goal is a male-centered, technology-supported healthcare system that enables all men to access medically sound treatment – regardless of where they live or their insurance status.
Sources
- Farid Saad, Antonio Aversa, Andrea M Isidori, Livia Zafalon, Michael Zitzmann, Louis Gooren, Onset of effects of testosterone treatment and time span until maximum effects are achieved, European Journal of Endocrinology , Volume 165, Issue 5, Nov 2011, Pages 675–685, https://doi.org/10.1530/EJE-11-0221
- Bhasin S, Brito JP, Cunningham GR, et al. (2018). Testosterone therapy in men with hypogonadism: An Endocrine Society clinical practice guideline. Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism, 103 (5), 1715-1744. https://doi.org/10.1210/jc.2018-00229
- Nian, Y., Ding, M., Hu, S., et al. (2017). Testosterone replacement therapy improves health-related quality of life for patients with late-onset hypogonadism: A meta-analysis. Andrologia, 49 (5), e12630. https://doi.org/10.1111/and.12630
- Almehmadi, Y., Yassin, AA, Nettleship, JE, & Saad, F. (2016). Testosterone replacement therapy improves the health-related quality of life of men diagnosed with late-onset hypogonadism. Arab Journal of Urology, 14 (1), 31–36. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.aju.2015.10.002
