madman
Super Moderator
Objectives
There are large regional and international differences in prescription patterns of testosterone replacement therapy (TRT) and testosterone measurements, with increases in testosterone prescriptions reported in several countries. We investigated temporal changes in testosterone testing andreimbursed doses of TRT covered by the Belgian healthcare system.
Methods
Anonymous data on serum total testosterone measurements (number of analyses and amount spent in euro) in men 17 years or older, were requested from the government (RIZIV) for 2012-2022. Data on TRT were requested from the government (Farmanet) from 1-2013 until 11-2019 (requested results for 12-2019 – 12-2022 pending). This covers pharmaceutical preparations reimbursed in Belgium, prescribed by a physician and provided to the patient via public pharmacies. In Belgium, only Sustanon® is reimbursed, so this dataset does not comprise transdermal preparations or testosterone undecanoate. Data were provided as number of delivered packages and amount spent. Since 2012, one package of Sustanon® on the Belgian market contains one dose of 250 mg testosterone esters.
Results
In 2013, total testosterone was measured 105.060 times in Belgian adult men. This increased to 138.570 in 2019 (+32% over a 7-year time period). The amount spent by the healthcare system for testosterone testing increased from e379.394 in 2013 to e487.645 in 2019 (+29%). In 2013, 38.695 doses of Sustanon® were sold. In 2019, this increased to 56.789 doses (+47%), corresponding to a cost of e380.403 in 2013 and e496.390 (+30%). From 2013 till 2019, the population of Belgian adult men increased by 4.3%.
Conclusions
The number of testosterone measurements increased by 32% in Belgium between 2013 and 2019. Remarkably, the number of doses of the only reimbursed testosterone replacement therapy showed an increase of 47% over a 7-year time period, showing a similar trend of prescription pattern increases as reported in other European countries.
There are large regional and international differences in prescription patterns of testosterone replacement therapy (TRT) and testosterone measurements, with increases in testosterone prescriptions reported in several countries. We investigated temporal changes in testosterone testing andreimbursed doses of TRT covered by the Belgian healthcare system.
Methods
Anonymous data on serum total testosterone measurements (number of analyses and amount spent in euro) in men 17 years or older, were requested from the government (RIZIV) for 2012-2022. Data on TRT were requested from the government (Farmanet) from 1-2013 until 11-2019 (requested results for 12-2019 – 12-2022 pending). This covers pharmaceutical preparations reimbursed in Belgium, prescribed by a physician and provided to the patient via public pharmacies. In Belgium, only Sustanon® is reimbursed, so this dataset does not comprise transdermal preparations or testosterone undecanoate. Data were provided as number of delivered packages and amount spent. Since 2012, one package of Sustanon® on the Belgian market contains one dose of 250 mg testosterone esters.
Results
In 2013, total testosterone was measured 105.060 times in Belgian adult men. This increased to 138.570 in 2019 (+32% over a 7-year time period). The amount spent by the healthcare system for testosterone testing increased from e379.394 in 2013 to e487.645 in 2019 (+29%). In 2013, 38.695 doses of Sustanon® were sold. In 2019, this increased to 56.789 doses (+47%), corresponding to a cost of e380.403 in 2013 and e496.390 (+30%). From 2013 till 2019, the population of Belgian adult men increased by 4.3%.
Conclusions
The number of testosterone measurements increased by 32% in Belgium between 2013 and 2019. Remarkably, the number of doses of the only reimbursed testosterone replacement therapy showed an increase of 47% over a 7-year time period, showing a similar trend of prescription pattern increases as reported in other European countries.
