Evidence map›Paper›PMID 41624165›Full record

ArticleObesity pillars2026

Testosterone therapy effects adipose distribution in older females post hip-fracture: The STEP-HI study.

Jacob E Earp, Shangshu Zhao, Furong Xu, Chia-Ling Kuo, Jenna M Bartley, Richard H Fortinsky, Jatupol Kositsawat, Carlos O Rehbein, Ellen F Binder, Jennifer Stevens-Lapsley and 1 more

Registry-linked trialAbstract read
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Article in Obesity pillars, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. It is linked to trial NCT02938923 (Combining Testosterone Therapy and Exercise to Improve Function Post Hip Fracture), which is not on this map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
0citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

NCT02938923 phase3completednot on this map

Combining Testosterone Therapy and Exercise to Improve Function Post Hip Fracture

TypeinterventionalSponsorWashington University School of MedicineRan2019 to 2023Enrolled129ConditionsHip Fracture, Frailty, SarcopeniaArmsTestosterone, Placebo gel, Supervised exercise training, Home exercise program, Health Education Modules
3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

0 citing papers in PubMed.

No citing paper in PubMed yet.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

11 authors.

Jacob E EarpDepartment of Kinesiology, University of Connecticut, Storrs, CT, 06269, USA.
Shangshu ZhaoUConn Center on Aging, University of Connecticut School of Medicine, University of Connecticut Health, Farmington, CT, 06032, USA.
Furong XuCollege of Education, University of Rhode Island, Kingston, RI, 02881, USA.
Chia-Ling KuoUConn Center on Aging, University of Connecticut School of Medicine, University of Connecticut Health, Farmington, CT, 06032, USA.
Jenna M BartleyUConn Center on Aging, University of Connecticut School of Medicine, University of Connecticut Health, Farmington, CT, 06032, USA.
Richard H FortinskyUConn Center on Aging, University of Connecticut School of Medicine, University of Connecticut Health, Farmington, CT, 06032, USA.
Jatupol KositsawatUConn Center on Aging, University of Connecticut School of Medicine, University of Connecticut Health, Farmington, CT, 06032, USA.
Carlos O RehbeinDepartment of Kinesiology, University of Connecticut, Storrs, CT, 06269, USA.
Ellen F BinderDivision of General Medicine and Geriatrics, Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, MO, 63110, USA.
Jennifer Stevens-LapsleyDepartment of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, University of Colorado, Aurora, CO, 80045, USA.
George A KuchelUConn Center on Aging, University of Connecticut School of Medicine, University of Connecticut Health, Farmington, CT, 06032, USA.

Funding

Sex-specific determinants of muscle quality in older adultsK01AG092901 · NIA · UNIVERSITY OF CONNECTICUT STORRS · PI Jacob E Earp · 2025 to 2026
$233k
NIA NIH HHS K01 AG092901
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Background: With aging and injury, females experience ectopic redistribution of appendicular adipose tissue (AAT) into the visceral compartment, where adipose tissue (VAT) becomes highly inflammatory and increases risk of reinjury and chronic illness. Therefore, strategies that can disrupt this unhealthy adipose redistribution after hip fracture injury are of great interest. We examined the effects of testosterone therapy on total adipose tissue (TAT) and adipose distribution in older females recovering from hip fracture. Methods: This was a sub-analysis of the STEP-HI study, a multi-site randomized clinical trial in which older females recovering from hip fracture were assigned to a 6-month exercise intervention combined with either topical testosterone gel (EX + T, n = 35, age = 79 ± 9 years) or placebo gel (EX + P, n = 31, age = 76 ± 7 years). Changes in TAT, AAT, and VAT mass and percentage of TAT in each region (%AAT and %VAT) were measured using dual x-ray absorptiometry, and changes over the 6-month intervention were compared between groups. Results: Over the intervention, changes were similar in TAT (EX + P: 298 ± 2002 g, EX + T: 419 ± 2086 g, p = 0.810), AAT (EX + P: 52 ± 1007 g, EX + T: 39 ± 1078 g, p = 0.810), %AAT (EX + P: 0.42 ± 1.40% of TAT, EX + T: 0.52 ± 1.67% of TAT, p = 0.792) and VAT (EX + P: 45 ± 232 g; EX + T: -44 ± 151 g; p = 0.073). However, relative changes in %VAT from pre-intervention (EX + P: Δ3.51 ± 18.42%; EX + T: -Δ10.57 ± 17.13%; p = 0.004) marked favorable effects of testosterone on relative visceral adiposity. Conclusion: While testosterone did not decrease overall adipose stores compared to exercise alone in older females recovering from hip fracture, it did promote a healthy pattern of adipose distribution away from the viscera. Clinical trial #: NCT02938923.

Indexed as

Abdominal fatAnabolic steroidsHip fractureIntra-abdominalRegional adiposityVisceral

Identifiers

PMID41624165
PMCPMC12854040

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Registered trials

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.