"Manopause" is a colloquial term. The male menopause is scientifically referred to as the andropause. And despite many years of research into the symptoms, causes and overall existence of the andropause, it is often dismissed as a made-up condition, like "man-flu".
A new study published in The Aging Male Journal by men's health expert Dr Malcolm Carruthers has compiled enough data to present the most convincing evidence yet for the existence of a male menopause. His 25-year study examined almost 2500 men, measuring their testosterone levels.
When the level of testosterone in a man's body begins to diminish, the effects are evident. Joint pain, night sweats, low mood and decreased sexual function are but some of the symptoms exhibited in the physicality or mental attitude of many middle-aged men. But, until now, this transition has not appeared as prevalent and predictable as the female equivalent.
Up to now testosterone levels have been measured using only blood samples, and the results themselves are compared solely with other men of the same age. Thus the levels may be deemed "normal" in relation to their peers even if they have dropped significantly overall.
And, because of this, a man with very high testosterone in his younger years might experience a severe drop in his 40s or 50s (the andropause), despite analysis of his blood not showing anything out of the ordinary.
Before the study, only 25000 British men were thought to experience a genuine hormonal shift on the same scale as the menopause; severe enough for them to benefit from hormone treatment. But on the basis of Carruthers' results, this number could be somewhere closer to 2million - equating to one in every five middle-aged men.
In the study, obesity, alcoholism and illnesses including cancer and hormone disorders appeared to exacerbate the andropausal symptoms, but the same adverse effects and drop in testosterone levels could be seen in control groups of "clean living" individuals.
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