DR MAX: I believe the 'manopause' DOES exist - and men suffering from it should get HRT By DR MAX PEMBERTON Published: 20:40 EST, 17 November 2024 | Updated: 20:41 EST, 17 November 2024 e-mail View comments What is it about the male psyche that means men often become curmudgeons as they age? We all know a once perfectly pleasant man whose inner Victor Meldrew emerged as soon as he hit 50. The grumpy old man isn’t a well-recognised trope for nothing. But could something else be going on? Could it actually be that they have a medical problem? For years we’ve assumed that misanthropic old men were just a fact of life.
We put their moods down to missing their purpose in life or thinking the world is moving on too fast for their liking. But increasingly there’s a view that they could be suffering from an hormonal imbalance called the andropause. This controversial condition – also known as the ‘manopause’ – is a result of low testosterone, and has inevitably attracted a lot of sniggering debate.
Some even say it’s a condition made up by men trying to muscle in on all the attention women are getting over the menopause . Yet it’s also been estimated by scientists that as many as one in five males over the age of 65 could be experiencing symptoms. And, yes, these are similar to the female menopause, including low libido, irritability, tiredness, sweating and generalised aches and pains.
One study put the figure at 840,000 men in the UK currently in the grip of sympt.
