BERKELEY, CA (UroToday.com) - Previous reports suggest a diurnal variation in serum testosterone (T) and recommended checking T levels in the early morning.

In a large Multi-Institutional study of 3006 men screened during Prostate Cancer Awareness Week, serum T levels were obtained randomly throughout the day. Four time periods (6am-10am; 10am-12pm; 12pm-2pm; and 2pm-6pm) were evaluated.

Lead author, Dr. Abe Morgantaler, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Boston, MA, reported at the Sexual Medicine Society of North America Annual Research Meeting that up to 2pm, serum T levels were remarkably stable. After 2pm, T levels dropped 13%. Further, the percentage of men with low T did not change, even in the 2-6pm group.

Dr. Morgantaler concluded "current restrictive recommendations regarding time of day for T testing may be safely liberalized, especially since hypogonadal men appear to demonstrate even less diurnal variation."

Written by Gregory A. Broderick, MD, a Contributing Editor with UroToday.

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