The Male Menopause Does Exist

The thought of some living human is that only women experience menopause at a certain age, probably the age of 50. 

Apparently, men go through it too, but the male menopause is called Andropause that affects the male sexual function.

Other symptoms of andropause are erectile dysfunction, decreased libido, mood disturbance (including depression, irritability, fatigue, limited strength), osteoporosis, and increment in body fat, lack of concentration, nausea, loss of memory.

Men suffering from andropause may well feel that their manliness has declined. Yet many male still deny that the andropause is still in existence despite the symptoms surfacing in different part. However it is becoming more acceptable in the scientific world as something that really affects lives of men at a particular stage in their life time.

According to Jed Diamond, a California psychotherapist and the author of “Male Menopause” says puberty, andropause wreaks the “hormonal, psychological, interpersonal, social, sexual and spiritual changes in aging men, just as puberty happens in teenage youths”.

A study conducted by Dr. A. Festus, in 2003 University of Ile Ife (now Obafemi Awolowo University) found that 44% of men ranging from 30-70 years suffer from erectile dysfunction; and out of these, 8% was severe and 36% moderate.

The researcher found out that the incidence of erectile dysfunction increased, as men got older from 38.5% for men aged 31-40 years to 64% for the older age group of 61-79 years.

Most men deny the fact that andropause exist, 39% regard it as myth while another 24% usually blame it on there wives. They therefor use this excuse to look for younger partners, only to discover that the problem has not been cured. They do not realise that the andropause has a medical foundation which stops men from receiving appriopriate medical help.

Andropause is due to changing in hormone levels in men, which progressively reduce with age. It is characterized by the loss of testosterone, the hormones that makes men act like men, most men testosterone level drops as they grow older; however some men are affected more than others are. The rate of decline varies from individual to individual, the loss of testosterone which can happen to men as young as 35 is a gradual process, with testosterone dropping by 1% to 1.5% annually, starting at about age 30. Testosterone drops by about 10% every 10 years. At the same time another hormone in the body called sex Binding hormone Globulin or SBHG traps much of the testosterone that is still circulating around the system and makes it unavailable to the body’s tissues and make them function properly.

Every man experiences a decline of bioavailable testosterone, but some men’s levels dip lower than others. It is estimated that 30% of men in their 50s will have testosterone level low enough to cause andropause symptoms. Testosterone is one of the hormone that forms the androgen panel or make hormones.