Male menopause: The silent epidemic that leaves millions of men suffering from erectile dysfunction, depression and rapid fat gain
CASSIDY MORRISON FOR DAILYMAIL.COM
Most of us are familiar with the menopause and the misery it causes for so many women.
A successful recent awareness campaign by celebrities and doctors highlighted the change that more than a million US women experience a year at around age 50, when their estrogen levels plummet and their reproductive years end.
Now doctors want to draw attention to a ‘silent epidemic’ that affects men with extremely low testosterone levels — the male menopause.
Like with women, the term is used to describe the period in an adult man’s life when his hormone levels crash, causing a host of symptoms that shatter sufferers’ confidence or are outright debilitating — including erectile dysfunction, depression, anxiety and rapid fat gain.
Male menopause, which doctors admit is a bit of a misnomer, is medically known as the andropause. Unlike menopause experienced by women, andropause is marked by a more gradual change.
Dr Bob Berookhim, a urologist in New York City and the Director of Male Fertility and Microsurgery at Lenox Hill Hospital, told DailyMail.com: ‘In men, declining testosterone levels tend to occur more slowly and can present at any age, and most men are less likely to present with a sudden onset of low testosterone symptoms.
‘I think the name hurts the chances for men to come in for care. The term may be considered emasculating to some, and these symptoms are often and uncomfortable for men to talk about at baseline.
‘That being said, when patients do come in and I’ve diagnosed them I call it “Manopause” to get a smile out of them!’
Male babies are born with testosterone. Their ‘T’ levels quickly increase during puberty, which causes boys to develop deeper voices, bigger muscles and body and facial hair. The hormone also helps the testes produce sperm crucial for reproduction.
Testosterone levels typically peak at around the age of 20 followed by a slow descent throughout the rest of adulthood. At their highest, testosterone levels should be anywhere between 300 and 1,200 ng/dL. Once men hit their mid-thirties, testosterone levels begin declining by at least one percent per year.
Urologists consider testosterone levels to be too low when they sink below 300 nanograms per deciliter (ng/dL). This happens most often in men in their 40s and 50s.
Estimates from the University of Wisconsin show that low testosterone affects roughly 12 percent of men in their 50s, 19 percent in their 60s, 28 percent in their 70s, and 49 percent in their 80s
Testosterone in males is produced in the testicles and drives sexual development. It regulates sex drive, bone mass, fat distribution, muscle mass and strength, and the production of red blood cells and sperm.
