Men's health (16)
- Kegel exercises for men: Understand the benefits
- Health issues for gay men: Prevention first
- Male menopause: Myth or reality?
- see all in Men's health
Free
E-newsletter
Subscribe to Housecall
Our weekly general interest
e-newsletter keeps you up to date
on a wide variety of health topics.
Mayo Clinic Housecall
Stay up to date on the latest health information.
What you get
- Free weekly e-newsletter
- Mayo Clinic expertise
- Recipes, tools and other helpful information
- We do not share your e-mail address
Male menopause: Myth or reality?
Aging-related hormone changes in men — sometimes called male menopause — are different from those in women. Understand signs, symptoms and treatment options.
By Mayo Clinic staffHormone changes are a natural part of aging. Unlike the more dramatic reproductive hormone plunge that occurs in women during menopause, however, sex hormone changes in men occur gradually — over a period of many years. Here's what to expect, and what you can do about it.
Debunking the male menopause myth
The term "male menopause" is sometimes used to describe decreasing testosterone levels or a reduction in the bioavailability of testosterone related to aging. Female menopause and so-called male menopause are two different situations, however. In women, ovulation ends and hormone production plummets during a relatively short period of time. In men, hormone production and testosterone bioavailability decline more gradually. The effects — such as changes in sexual function, energy level or mood — tend to be subtle and might go unnoticed for years.
So what's the best way to refer to so-called male menopause? Many doctors use the term "andropause" to describe aging-related hormone changes in men. Other terms for so-called male menopause include testosterone deficiency, androgen deficiency of the aging male and late-onset hypogonadism.
Understanding male hormones over time
Testosterone levels vary greatly among men. In general, however, older men tend to have lower testosterone levels than do younger men. Testosterone levels gradually decline throughout adulthood — about 1 percent a year after age 30 on average. By about age 70, the decrease in a man's testosterone level can be as much as 50 percent.
Next page(1 of 2)
- Tostain JL, et al. Testosterone deficiency: A common, unrecognized syndrome. Nature Clinical Practice Urology. 2008;5:388.
- Bhasin S, et al. Testosterone therapy in adult men with androgen deficiency syndromes: An Endocrine Society clinical practice guideline. The Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism. 2006;91:1995.
- Amore M, et al. Partial androgen deficiency, depression and testosterone treatment in aging men. Aging Clinical and Experimental Research. 2009;21:1.
- Harman SM. Endocrine changes with aging. http://www.uptodate.com/home/index.html. Accessed March 30, 2011.
- Snyder PJ. Decline in testicular function with aging. http://www.uptodate.com/home/index.html. Accessed March 30, 2011.
- Baum NH, et al. Testosterone replacement in elderly men. Geriatrics. 2007;62:15.
- Men and depression. National Institute of Mental Health. http://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/publications/men-and-depression/complete-index.shtml. Accessed March 30, 2011.
- 2008 Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. http://www.health.gov/PAGUIDELINES/guidelines/default.aspx. Accessed March 30, 2011.
- DHEA. Natural Medicines Comprehensive Database. http://www.naturaldatabase.com. Accessed March 30, 2011.
- Wang C, et al. Investigation, treatment and monitoring of late-onset hypogonadism in males. International Journal of Andrology. 2009;32:1.
- Perheentupa A, et al. Aging of the human ovary and testis. Molecular and Cellular Endocrinology. 2009;299:2.
- Nair KS. DHEA in elderly women and DHEA or testosterone in elderly men. The New England Journal of Medicine. 2006;355:1647.
- Yassin AA, et al. Testosterone and erectile dysfunction. Journal of Andrology. 2008;29:593.
Find Mayo Clinic on