TUESDAY, Aug. 29, 2023 (HealthDay News) — Men’s testosterone levels remain pretty regular until age 70. After that, production of the male sex hormone starts to say no, recent research indicates.
This begs the query: Is testosterone loss amongst seniors really a function of the traditional aging process? Or might it reflect other health issues that usually confront men as they become old?
Each could also be true, say investigators, with obesity, hypertension, diabetes and even marital status among the many aspects that appear to drive testosterone levels down, along with age.
When testosterone does fall, the result could also be increased weakness and fatigue, diminished sexual performance, lack of muscle mass, and a better risk for diabetes and dementia.
While you’ll be able to’t do anything about your age, the findings suggest some positive lifestyle changes might help preserve your masculinity.
Study creator Bu Yeap said that after 70 the pituitary gland at the bottom of the brain actually sends out signals to extend, not decrease, testosterone production.
To search out out what is likely to be short-circuiting that signal, the study team analyzed 11 studies from Australia, Europe and North America, involving some 25,000 men in total, said Yeap, an endocrinologist and medical school professor on the University of Western Australia.
All of the studies were conducted prior to 2020. In each, men’s testosterone levels were repeatedly measured over time using a way called mass spectrometry.
Collectively, the information revealed that “on average, testosterone levels are lower in older men in comparison with younger men,” noted Yeap, who can also be a past-president of the Endocrine Society of Australia.
However the evaluation also indicated that concentrations of one other testosterone-increasing hormone — LH (luteinizing hormone) — goes up after 70. And Yeap noted that testosterone declines directly attributed to age were deemed to be relatively “modest.”
Meanwhile, a big selection of other aspects were found to contribute to a post-70 decline in testosterone. These included heart disease, smoking history, cancer, diabetes, hypertension, excess body weight, reduced activity and even marriage.
Specifically, being obese or obese was found to have “a way more distinguished association” with lower testosterone levels, relative to older age alone, he added.
Men over 70 who took drugs to regulate high levels of cholesterol were also found to have barely lower testosterone levels, the evaluation indicated.
As for marriage and long-term relationships, each were pegged as having a testosterone-dampening impact amongst seniors.
“A possible explanation,” Yeap suggested, “might be that married men with families is likely to be more stressed, and subsequently have lower testosterone levels. But our study wasn’t designed to look further into this result.”
He said the foremost message is that a variety of sociodemographic, lifestyle and medical aspects influence testosterone levels in men.
“These have to be considered when doctors interpret testosterone results from individual men, as testosterone levels is likely to be lower than expected within the presence of those conditions, quite than being all the time because of an (age-related) problem with the testes,” Yeap added.
Dr. Robert Eckel is past president of the American Heart Association, and past president of medication and science with the American Diabetes Association.
After reviewing the findings, he stressed that the repeatedly emerging picture of testosterone production dynamics “appears to be more complicated on a regular basis.”
But while noting how “difficult” it’s to get a precise handle on the varied reasons for falling testosterone, Eckel pointed to 2 potentially critical aspects: LH levels and levels of a key protein (sex hormone-binding globulin, or SHBG) tasked with transporting testosterone throughout the body.
A drop in either — whether because of health complications or the march of time — may lead to a dip in testosterone levels and/or availability, Eckel said.
Since lower testosterone can undermine quality of life, what should a concerned man do?
Eckel and Yeap urged older patients to seek the advice of their doctor to be able to determine whether or not testosterone supplementation therapy is likely to be appropriate or helpful.
“Testosterone treatment should only be given if there may be a transparent medical reason,” stressed Yeap, “and all the time under medical supervision.”
The findings were published online Aug. 28 within the Annals of Internal Medicine.
More information
Harvard Medical School has more on testosterone and aging.
SOURCES: Bu B. Yeap, MBBS, PhD, professor, Medical School, University of Western Australia, Crawley, Australia, and endocrinologist, Fiona Stanley Hospital, Perth, Western Australia, and past-president, Endocrine Society of Australia; Robert H. Eckel, MD, past president, American Heart Association and past president of medication and science, American Diabetes Association, and professor of medication, emeritus, division of endocrinology, metabolism & diabetes, and division of cardiology, University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus; Annals of Internal Medicine, Aug. 28, 2023, online