Male Menopause, exist?

The “male menopause” or late onset hypogonadism (the medical term-LOH-) is a condition
that actually exists, and probably it is underdiagnosed for many urologist or family doctors.

Normally it is a decrease of testosterone (the male hormone) with the increase of the men age, but this decrease usually does not affect the normal “male function”: sexual and physical activities. In fact sometime this decrease could be below the normal value without causing any symptoms.

This problem according to an investigation published on The New England Journal of Medicine has prevalence of 2.1% of the male population and it is more frequent from the fifth decade of life. The condition can be identified by the presence of 3 sexual symptoms (decreased frequency of morning erection, decreased frequency of sexual thoughts, and erectile dysfunction) combined with a decrease of the level of testosterone. Other nonsexual symptoms related to low testosterone levels (physical and psychological) may also be present but are not required as part of the definition. We can find: inability to engage in vigorous activity, such as running or lifting heavy objects; an inability to walk more than 1 km; and an inability to bend, kneel, or stop; sadness, fatigue, and lossof energy.

But the LOH has more serious consequences like lower hemoglobin on blood, increased abdominal circumference, insulin resistance, metabolic syndrome, decreased bone mineralization and poorer good health, all this problems were seen on an study published on The Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism the past month.

The diagnosis is made based on the symptoms and signs, some blood test and validated
questionnaires. Hormonal replacement is the key of the treatment, but it is necessary a close follow up.

If you think you have this condition, please do not hesitance to mail me to lnunez@urozen.com or come and visit me on UROZEN

Luciano Nunez-Bragayrac M.D.

Urologist