For some older men, the onset of male menopause can be a difficult time, with different symptoms beginning to affect their well-being, male menopause can have an even bigger impact on their mental health.
What is the male menopause?
“Male menopause” is commonly used as a title because it affects men as they age, and has similar symptoms to the female menopause. But is it the same?
In truth, not quite – the term is something of a misleading tagline – while there is a very real change which happens to some men at a certain point in their life, the name itself encompasses a lot of different conditions.
The one key link between them all? A large dip in that all-important testosterone.
Some of the most common include:
- Testosterone deficiency
- Increasing SHBG levels
- Reduced pituitary function
- Reduced production of testosterone by the testicles
- Increasing insulin resistance/onset of diabetes
In all of these cases, it’s the dramatic reduction in the amount of testosterone the body produces which causes the menopause to kick in.
While these factors won’t affect everyone as they age, it can have a huge impact on individuals who do see a dip in production.