The midlife crisis of male menopause

andropause

Female menopause in the middle age because of various factors is a phenomenon known by everyone. One serious factor of concern that is not known to everybody, and should be taken seriously, is the male menopause. With age, sometimes men may also experience changes in their body which may be in the form of weight gain, depression, reduced sex drive or some other emotional symptoms related to the problem of male menopause or andropause. This is a lesser known fact, but it is actually very serious and should be taken care of.

Signs of changes in men

male menopause

Unlike women, the changes in men while they head towards menopause are less abrupt. The changes are slow as there is a gradual decrease in the level of a hormone testosterone. The term male menopause is not used by the health professionals; instead they use to refer it as andropause, late onset hypogonadism or testosterone deficiency. The main symptoms of changes in men are hot flashes, decreased energy, loss of muscle mass, moodiness and irritability, decreased sex drive, dry and thin skin and hyperhidrosis or excessive sweating.

Causes of male menopause

Testosterone

As men reach their 30’s, their testosterone levels gradually start to fall by 1 percent on average each year. When they reach their 70’s, their testosterone level is 40 percent less than what the level was in their 30’s. This reason contributes to a very little extent to the actual cause of male menopause because it is a natural condition and it cannot be controlled. The other reasons being anxiety, other health problems, stress, lack of exercise, smoking, low self esteem, alcohol consumption and deprivation from sound sleep. A neurological problem or changes in the blood vessels may cause erectile dysfunction. Sometimes in the middle age, men become emotionally concerned about what they have achieved in their life till now and what they are going to be in the future, both personally and professionally, which causes depression in them and this gradually increases the chances of male menopause.

Diagnosis and treatment

Overweight

As the health professionals do not use the term ‘male menopause’ and instead represent it as a set of symptoms which may be due to many factors (which includes low testosterone and various other factors as mentioned above), the treatment is also provided according to the symptoms varying from person to person. For example, a person who is obese will be advised to lose weight, other person who is suffering from diabetes, heart and cardiovascular diseases will have to undergo appropriate treatment, and a person with signs of depression will be treated by psychologist or psychiatrist. Sometimes, doctors may advise a testosterone therapy, but it can have serious side effects in future. Above all, a healthy diet and a healthy lifestyle will help in reducing the possibilities of this serious problem of menopause in men.

Recent Articles:

Scroll to Top