MAGA Republican President Donald Trump's Secretary of Defense, former Fox News weekend host Pete Hegseth, drew considerable mockery after announcing his "High-T Department of War" on X on July 15.
People noted the irony of Hegseth mandating gender affirming healthcare through hormone replacement therapy (HRT) after the Trump administration banned transgender people from serving in the military.
One argument used by conservatives against the less than 1% of service members who were transgender remaining in the military, was the cost of their HRT. Yet Hegseth mandated hormone testing for all males over 30—approximately 35% of all active-duty male service members—and HRT for all with testosterone levels lower than Hegseth deemed acceptable.
If you missed Hegseth's announcement, you can watch it here:
While the cost associated with both the testing and mandatory HRT is ridiculous on its own, there are other reasons why Hegseth's mandate is a bad idea. Hegseth's degrees are in politics and public policy, not science or medicine, and he's putting millions of men's lifelong health at risk for no discernible benefit.
Dr. Owais Durrani, an emergency medicine specialist who frequently shares plain language, fact-based medical and science information online and through his Emmy-nominated KPRC 2 news segments, went viral on Threads when he spelled out in simple terms all the serious health implications created by the ignorant and uninformed making unilateral healthcare decisions.
Dr. Durrani wrote:
"Pete Hegseth just ordered mandatory testosterone testing for every service member 30 and up."
"The stated goal: keep troops at the 'leading edge of lethality.' The science on this is clear. It just doesn't say what Pete thinks it says."
He continued:
"First, the basics. Testosterone declines naturally with age. That's normal, not a disease. True testosterone deficiency affects about 5.6% of men ages 30 to 79. It skews heavily toward the older end."
"Fit troops in their 30s? Among the least likely to have it."
"Here's the problem with mass screening."
"No major medical guideline recommends testing healthy men without symptoms. Not the Endocrine Society. Not the [American Urological Association]. The standard is symptoms first, then two separate morning fasting blood tests to confirm."
Dr. Durrani added:
"Why two tests? Because testosterone bounces around all day. Test a guy at 2pm after a night shift and he'll look 'low.' Screen millions of healthy troops with a fluctuating hormone and you manufacture thousands of false positives."
"That's not readiness, it's noise."
He then explained what Testosterone Replacement Therapy (TRT) does based on medical research, not the taglines and claims from supplement commercials featuring older athletes.
"What does [Testosterone Replacement Therapy (TRT)] actually do?"
"[National Institutes of Health (NIH)] trials in older men: better libido, better erectile function, small mood bump. Fatigue? Memory? Overall well-being? Little to no improvement. 'Lethality' has never been measured in any trial. That word is marketing, not medicine."
Dr. Durrani then outlined the risks of TRT, as every medical intervention whether necessary or unnecessary carries risks.
"The risks nobody is mentioning: TRT shuts down sperm production. This is a young force in their family-building years. It thickens blood. It requires lifelong monitoring."
"And once you start, your body often stops making its own [testosterone]."
"Here's the irony. The Navy started drug testing for testosterone-related substances after a SEAL recruit died in 2022 and investigators found rampant [Performance-Enhancing Drug (PED)] use. Now the same military is building an official on-ramp to prescribed testosterone."
Dr. Durrani concluded:
"Bottom line: Testing troops with symptoms? Good medicine."
"Mandatory annual screening of healthy 30-year-olds tied to 'lethality' talk? That's politics wearing a lab coat."
"Our troops deserve evidence-based care, not a wellness clinic sales pitch."
@acedurrani/Threads
Unlike Hegseth's announcement, which was unsupported by facts or data, the last post of Dr. Durrani's risk assessment included links to multiple reputable health resources to support his claims.
People appreciated Dr. Durrani's explanation of the risks of pseudoscience being pushed on our military by an unqualified individual like Hegseth.
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Many also dunked on Hegseth's toxic version of masculinity and his obsession with men's bodies.
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While Fox News host Jesse Watters joked women and military significant others could look forward to increased domestic violence and sexual assaults thanks to testosterone boosted men, most people aren't laughing about the new DOD mandate.
Hegseth's incompetence will continue to have detrimental and deadly consequences.
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