September 10, 2010 10:01 AM

Male Menopause on the Rise: Why Do Men Suffer in Silence?

By
David W Freeman
Topics
Diabetes ,
Mental Health ,
Sex and Relationships ,
Disease

Erectile dysfunction is one symptom of low testosterone, experts say. (istockphoto)

(CBS) Women aren't the only ones forced to cope with hormonal changes in midlife.

Experts say more than five million men feel the effects of male hypogonadism, a.k.a. male menopause.

PICTURES: 11 Warning Signs of Low Testosterone

And it's no walk in the park. Symptoms of the disorder include mood swings, fatigue, and reduced muscle mass, in addition to a waning sex drive and erectile dysfunction.

What's more, says Dr. Abraham Morgentaler, associate clinical professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School, the condition can raise the risk for heart disease, diabetes, and osteoporosis,

"This is a highly prevalent disorder," Dr. Robert Brannigan, associate professor of urology at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine in Chicago, said in a written statement. "Unfortunately, we estimate that 95 percent of cases are undiagnosed and therefore untreated. When ignored, symptoms can seriously disrupt one's quality of life."

The condition stems from a deficiency of the male hormone testosterone. Men's testosterone levels fall about 1 percent a year beginning in their late thirties, said Dr. Brannigan. By age 70, a guy might be operating with half as much "T" as he had back in the day.

Dr. Brannigan said the condition was increasingly common, adding that men often suffer in silence - needlessly.

The condition can be diagnosed with a simple blood test, and treated with testosterone injections, skin patches and gels, and implantable pellets.

The treatments are controversial, as some evidence suggests that supplemental testosterone raises a man's risk of prostate cancer, according to doctors from the Mayo Clinic. But Dr. Brannigan and Dr. Morgentaler are strong advocates for testosterone replacement, saying that men who get it often experience dramatic improvements in their quality of life.

Says Dr. Brannigan, "This disorder is not something that should be ignored."

14 Photos

11 Warning Signs of Low Testosterone

View the Full Gallery »


Add a Comment
by garyclrk September 22, 2010 10:04 PM EDT
yes. alas. <a href="http://testosterone-for-men.com/Andropause-testosterone.php">andropause</a> is now being recognized as something that needs medical attention! thank you for sharing.
Reply to this comment
by ccrh1964 September 12, 2010 1:16 PM EDT
Sorry, but there's no such as a real male menopause or aka andropause. There IS such thing as hormone problems in general. Please stop trying to compare the normal cessation of women's menstrual cycles to a man's SEX problems!!! Get out, excercise, lose weight, stop playing video games, drinking alchohol, eating fattening things!! GEEZ!! When you guys have periods for about 40 years with exception to pregnancy, you'll get my sympathy!! Oh, a man doesn't have sex interest, put the blame PLEASE where it belongs, in his upper head just like it is for women!!!
Funny how if a man doesn't have an interest in sex, no so called energy, etc, it's suddently all hormones, but in a woman we're blamed it's psychiatric!!
I'm kind of looking forward to menopause cause it's the end of monthly cramps, etc. Who cares about the sex part, with exception I'm afraid my husband will think I don't love him like he does if I'm not interested. How many women say they want 'loving' from their husbands?? Men think sex IS loving another person. Get a grip!! My husband, too!!
NOW, after you see a cardiologist, get outside and get excercising regularly, see a psychologist, then perhaps hormone testing. If I remember correctly, ENERGY mostly comes from.. EATING, not testosterone!
SICK AND TIRED OF ALL THE MALE SEX ORIENTATED COMMERCIALS!!!!!!!!!!
Reply to this comment
by almagill September 10, 2010 5:30 PM EDT
The term 'male menopause' while ideally suited to headline writers is sadly misleading. 'Andropause' also has it's problems.

Male androgen production does naturally decline with age but there are other causes of the symptoms associated with 'andropause'.

A number of health conditions and in some cases the treatments for those conditions, can cause a reduction in testosterone. To complicate matters further, low testosterone can cause or exacerbate some health conditions. This is not a simple issue or one that, as routinely seems to happen, should be dismissed as "just your age".

When a patient presents to their doctor with unusual weight problems, bone or joint pain, problems with heart, liver or kidneys or even depression it may help reduce the 95% of 'undiagnosed' cases of low testosterone if doctors did a simple blood test to check androgen levels.

At the very least this will help improve the quality of life for many low-T patients (and their families). In some cases it may help prevent an early death.
Reply to this comment
by barbaram99 September 10, 2010 2:26 PM EDT
i have gone thru the change of life known an menopause. Yep males have their own andropause. I think that should be talked about so males know about it.What ages do men go thru this. I truly don't know. I went thru mine at 37 as I am female. I have a male roommate. of 27 years.
Reply to this comment
by goffredo29 September 10, 2010 1:12 PM EDT
Androgens don't cause cancer, they just stimulate it if it happens to arise. And, why is it that we have to put up with the expression "male menopause" when we have our own term: andropause?
Reply to this comment
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