Does Direct-to-Consumer Advertising Affect Prescribing Behavior?

Testosterone prescribing for middle-aged and older men in the U.S. rose nearly fourfold from 2000 through 2011. Given the uncertain risk-benefit ratio of testosterone in late-onset hypogonadism and the substantial prevalence of testosterone prescribing without appropriate testing, researchers assessed the effect of televised direct-to-consumer advertising (DTCA) on testosterone prescribing, testing, and treatment initiation in 75 U.S. major media markets. Measures of advertising exposure from 2009 through 2013 were linked with insurance claims data for more than 17 million men, of whom about 1 million received new testosterone tests and about 283,000 received new testosterone prescriptions.

Monthly testing and prescribing rates rose through …