Can Testosterone Cause Erythrocytosis?

Testosterone therapy

can cause secondary erythrocytosis. Erythrocytosis can cause symptoms of hyperviscosity, such as headache, fatigue, blurred vision and paresthesias.

Does testosterone cause high RBC?

Testosterone has a well-documented erythrogenic effect that increases red blood cell production. Testosterone treatment is associated with a dose-dependent increase in hemoglobin and hematocrit levels^16-18; the increases in hemoglobin and hematocrit are greater in older men than in young men.

Does testosterone cause erythropoiesis?

It is possible that testosterone stimulates erythropoiesis through a direct effect on the bone marrow hematopoietic stem cells (15,19); these direct erythropoietic effects involve IGF-I induction (19) through androgen receptor-mediated mechanisms (27).