Ya know that male menopause?

Posted by Liz on Jun 21, 2010 in men | 1 comment

Ya know that ‘Low T,” the male equivalent of female menopause, the “iT” condition to hit the airways?  It appears that male menopause is a whole lotta of hype based on not so much evidence.

In fact, in a newly published study in the online edition of esteemed New England Journal of Medicine, researchers show that low testosterone is a very rare condition, affecting only 2% of elderly men, most of whom have poor health and are obese.

Kind puts a an axe on the whole “shadow of one’s former self,’ eh?

In the study, researchers surveyed over 3,300 men between the ages of 40 and 79 (mean age, 59.7 years in order to collect information on general, sexual, physical and psychological health.  They also measured blood samples daily for testosterone, and then divided the groups so that they could be compared.

The results?

In the entire pool, only 32 men were found to have severe low testosterone that could not be caused by any physical problem. What’s more, the researchers learned that many symptoms of what is considered classic male menopause were not actually associated with decreased testosterone levels, including loss of energy, physical ability, fatigue and depression) highlighting that what has been largely touted as “male menopause” is simply non-specific symptoms of aging.

The researchers concluded that only three symptoms were actually associated with male menopause, i.e. decreased frequency of morning erections, decreased sex drives (i.e. sexual thoughts) and erectile dysfunction, and that these symptoms, in concert with very low testosterone levels, had to be present in order to devise a true diagnosis of male menopause.

This means that male menopause, low T, whatever you call it, is overhyped, overdiagnosed and simply does not affect an overwhelming majority of men who are being unwittingly prescribed testosterone therapy when they don’t need it.

Men – please, speak with your doctor before starting testosterone to boost your sex drive. The researchers say that “testosterone may only be useful in a relatively small number of cases.”

Think you’ve got  ‘Low T/ male menopause?’ It may not be your problem after all.

Want more? Reuters Health also has a piece on this study.