Dose Effect of Caffeine on Testosterone and Cortisol Responses to Resistance Exercise
Abstract
Introduction Interest in the use of caffeine as an ergogenic aid has increased since the International Olympic Committee lifted the partial ban on its use. Caffeine has beneficial effects on various aspects of athletic performance, but its effects on training have been neglected. Purpose To investigate the acute effect of caffeine on the exercise-associated increases in testosterone and cortisol in a double-blind crossover study. Methods Twenty-four professional rugby-league players ingested caffeine doses of 0, 200, 400, and 800 mg in random order 1 hr before a resistance-exercise session. Saliva was sampled at the time of caffeine ingestion, at 15-min intervals throughout each session, and 15 and 30 min after the session. Data were log-transformed to estimate percent effects with mixed modeling, and effects were standardized to assess magnitudes. Results Testosterone concentration showed a small increase of 15% (90% confidence limits, +/- 19%) during exercise. Caffeine raised this concentration in a dose-dependent manner by a further small 21% (+/- 24%) at the highest dose. The 800-mg dose also produced a moderate 52% (+/- 44%) increase in cortisol. The effect of caffeine on the testosterone:cortisol ratio was a small decline (14%; +/- 21%). Conclusion Caffeine has some potential to benefit training outcomes via the anabolic effects of the increase in testosterone concentration, but this benefit might be counteracted by the opposing catabolic effects of the increase in cort…
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Pooled data from two large meta-analyses found no causal association between caffeine intake and erectile dysfunction.
“but pooled data from two large meta-analyses found no causal association.[41][42][43]”
From A systematic appraisal of emerging alternative therapies in men’s health and wellness (2025) · cites this paper as [43]
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“…unclear if its confidence interval overlapped the thresholds for substantiveness (that is, if the chances of the effect’s being substantially positive and negative were both >5%); otherwise the magnitude of the effect was reported as the magnitude of its observed value (Batterham & Hopkins, 2006).”
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Effects of caffeine and carbohydrate mouth rinses on repeated sprint performance
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A systematic appraisal of emerging alternative therapies in men’s health and wellness
Qaoud, Y., Morcos, M., Macdonald, M., Shoeib, A., Qureshi, Y., Mak, M., Ross, A., Vigil, H., & Witherspoon, L. (2025) · Canadian Urological Association Journal · doi:10.5489/cuaj.9368 · Cited by 1 · see citing works
- Authors
- Beaven, C. M., Hopkins, W. G., Hansen, K. T., Wood, M. R., Cronin, J. B., & Lowe, T. E.
- Venue
- International Journal of Sport Nutrition and Exercise Metabolism
- Publisher
- Human Kinetics
- Published
- 2008-04
- Volume
- 18
- Issue
- 2
- Pages
- 131-141
- ISSN
- 1526-484X (ISSN-L)
- 1543-2742
- OpenAlex
- W2136209395
- Cited by
- 71
- References
- 8
- Citations by year
- 2026: 4 · 2025: 4 · 2024: 3 · 2023: 3 · 2022: 3 · 2021: 4 · 2020: 1 · 2019: 4 · 2018: 4 · 2017: 9 · 2016: 4 · 2015: 4 · 2014: 3 · 2013: 4 · 2012: 7
- FWCI
- 2.31
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- International Journal of Sport Nutrition and Exercise Metabolism (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Victoria University Research Repository (Victoria University) (submittedVersion)
- Topics
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Pharmacology › Coffee research and impacts
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Orthopedics and Sports Medicine › Sports Performance and Training
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Rehabilitation › Exercise and Physiological Responses
- Keywords
- caffeine, testosterone, cortisol, resistance training, dose-response relationship, testosterone/cortisol ratio, ergogenic aids, rugby league players, acute exercise response
- MeSH terms
- Adult, Central Nervous System Stimulants, Caffeine, Dose-Response Relationship, Drug, Double-Blind Method, Humans, Hydrocortisone, Male, Saliva, Task Performance and Analysis, Testosterone, Weight Lifting, Cross-Over Studies
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