Study: Men's Testosterone Levels Down

But Levels Are Still Within Normal Range, Study Of Boston Men Shows

(WebMD)  A new study shows a drop in average blood levels of testosterone in middle-aged Boston men over the last 20 years.

The reasons for that decline aren't clear, and participants' average testosterone levels are in the normal range, the study shows.

The report appears in The Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism's early online edition.

The researchers work at the New England Research Institutes in Watertown, Mass. They included Thomas Travison, Ph.D.

Travison's team studied the testosterone levels of 1,500 Boston men.

Blood levels of testosterone were first checked in the late 1980s. The second testing was in the mid-1990s. The third testing was in 2002 through 2004.

All of the men were 45 to 79 years old when they took the testosterone test.

As men age, their testosterone levels naturally drop. So the researchers made sure their comparisons were fair in terms of the men's age.

The key finding: Testosterone levels declined over time beyond what would be expected with age.

Travison comments on the findings in a news release from The Endocrine Society (the journal's publisher).

"In 1988, men who were 50 years old had higher serum testosterone concentrations than did comparable 50-year-old men in 1996," Travison says.

"This suggests that some factor other than age may be contributing to the observed declines in testosterone over time," he adds.

Obesity and smoking don't appear to explain the results, the study shows.

However, average testosterone levels were within the normal range for all generations studied, and testosterone levels can vary throughout the day.

Other studies are needed to double-check the results, Travison's team notes in the news release.

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SOURCES: Travison, T. The Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism, Oct. 2, 2006; online edition. News release, The Endocrine Society.

[hwgthrice]

Evidence is emerging from many quarters that disposed of/ and waste chemistry from female birth control devices (patches/pills) is entering the waterstream and drastically affecting the population health of amphibia. Might higher life forms be affected in yet unstudied ways?

[kesac4650]

It could be they are turning Liberal.

I agree with nerya_100, it is a survival modification. I wonder if societal pressures to be a "kinder, gentler male, someone who understand women" type of sensitive guy also play into this evolution.

[randyite]

Dear Iduard,
Decades of studies have demonstrated every time that the testosterone levels of homosexual men are, on average, the same as heterosexual men (and, in fact, slightly higher, but not to a statistically significant degree)

[randyite]

Dear Iduard,
Decades of studies have demonstrated every time that the testosterone levels of homosexual men are, on average, the same as heterosexual men (and, in fact, slightly higher, but not to a statistically significant degree)

[wlfrd7]

Good heavens ! Everyone knows it was stolen during the Women's lib movement; Then it was divided up equally, causing an overall drop in the male gender; Just good Science and Math.

[nerya_100]

Well, it really doesn't take a genius to figure out why these levels have dropped. Just think the males no longer row their own boats, plow there own fields, or swing a sword. we live in a day and time that even if a person needs their mouth busted there are laws that prevent us form doing this; therefore, the natural bodies response to conform is to reduce the testosterone levels. It would be nice to know what the testosteron levels were of a male in his 40's in the late 1800's and early 1900's

[iduard]

Do you think that this is why there are more gay and bisexual men in the world?

[meboard]

It would have to be a study our of Boston... They couldn't go to Montgomery or Dallas could they? It just had to be Boston!!! Okay all you Dem bashers out there, bring it on...we're bracing...