The viral "45% testosterone in 7 days" study was retracted

The number

The single 2003 study behind the viral "45% testosterone in seven days" figure — a paper that followed 28 volunteers and reported serum testosterone peaking on the seventh day of abstinence at 145.7% of baseline, the source of the meme's "45% increase" — has been retracted, and its PubMed record now carries a formal retraction notice. ^[1]

Retraction in: J Zhejiang Univ Sci A. 2021

^[1]

What it does and doesn't establish

The retraction means the movement's single headline citation for the testosterone claim now points to a withdrawn paper — the "45% in seven days" figure rests on a study that no longer stands in the peer-reviewed literature. It does not, on its own, prove that abstinence has no effect on hormones; what it removes is the one published measurement the claim was ever built on. For the fuller picture — including why the reported spike was only a transient day-seven peak and what a reviewer of the whole literature concluded — see Does NoFap (semen retention) boost testosterone?