Increasing Awarness of Andropause - Article Example

? Awareness of Andropause Awareness of Andropause Aging is a phenomenon, which cannot be stopped by any human effort. As time passes by and a person becomes older by every passing moment, there are many novel issues which become attached to the aging person. Out of many issues, which are related to aging, there is a significant issue which has a direct connection to aging. For females, this problem is known as Menopause; however, for men the similar problem is identified by the name of Andropause. A. Vermeulan proposed in his article Andropause that Menopause is comparably a general issue which is associated with females’ hormonal deficiency in their middle age. On the other hand, Andropause is a similar health issue, which is associated with men’s hormonal deficiency. It is a general issue with aging men, which is often not identified. A research by Rabih A. Hijazi and Glenn R. Cunningham reflects that there is 30 percent of American men falling in the age group of 60 to 70 years, and 70 percent American men falling in the age group of 70 to 80 years, who are suffering from this particular health issue. The problem of Andropause can potentially cause several other significant health issues, in addition to psychological problems, which are often associated with it. It is pertinent to spread awareness regarding the issue of Andropause, by which severe potential risk factors associated with it can be reduced to a significant extent. In order to increase the awareness of Andropause among men, it is essential to explicate the problem along with its causes and symptoms followed by the possible diagnosis for Andropause. Andropause is a term that depicts a set of effects demonstrating their presence in few aging men, which are to some extent similar to women’s problem of Menopause. In Andropause, the production of sperm in the body along with the level of testosterone decreases. In the male body, muscle mass, facial hair, deep voices and the pattern of body hairs are dependent upon testosterone. Testosterone is a hormone which plays a significantly important role in the development of a male body. Andropause is highly associated with a decrease in the level of testosterone, which is a male hormone. An estimate (as mentioned by Robert S. Tan in his book The Andropause Mystery) proposes that the level of testosterone decreases in men after the age of thirty. This decrease is approximately 10 percent in each decade after a man has crossed 30 years of age. This gradual decrease in the level of testosterone leads to the problem of Andropause in which a male encounters several physical and psychological issues which are often counted as symptoms of Andropause. There are several causes for Andropause in which the most common and significant is mentioned above, which is a deficiency in the level of testosterone in the male body. As Vermeulan describes, when a man ages, his body begins to produce a lower amount of testosterone. In addition, there is another hormone that acquires a significant amount of testosterone from the blood. This hormone is known as Sex Hormone Binding Globulin (SHBG). The level of testosterone gradually starts to decrease in the aging man, due to those two factors. The level of testosterone in the body, which is not being acquired by SHBG is known as bioavailable testosterone, which can be utilized by the body as the term demonstrates. Those men who are most likely to have the problem of Andropause possess a substantially lower amount of bioavailable testosterone in blood circulating in their bodies. Those tissues, which are stimulated by the level of testosterone, receive low quantity of it due to a lower level of testosterone in the blood. This phenomenon can potentially cause several physical as well as mental changes in the affected individual. As the biological cause of Andropause has been explicated, there are several symptoms by which an individual can be diagnosed as having the problem of Andropause. Firstly, the person having Andropause confronts with having a lower sex drive than a usual experience. Sexual drive is highly related with the level of bioavailable testosterone in blood (as discussed by Tan), which decreases due to Andropause. Another symptom of Andropause is erectile dysfunction, in which a man experiences difficulties in penile erection. Another physical symptom is the lack of strength and the mass of muscle which is associated with Andropause. A person having this problem may also experience hot flashes, and he may experience a significant increase in body fat. In psychological symptoms, an aging man having Andropause comes across a depression phase quite often as compared to other persons. A person may also experience mood swings in a significantly frequent manner with Andropause. Symptoms of Andropause are critically severe in its implications on an aging person; however, there are certainly more severe complications, which are associated with this problem. The first complication (as described by Vermeulen) is the increased risk regarding the cardiovascular issues, which may occur to a person having Andropause. Another complication is that the person having Andropause is most likely to suffer from osteoporosis which is a severe bone disease. These complications associated with Andropause can potentially cause critical health conditions and the cardiovascular problems can even result in death. Hijazi and Cunningham propose a therapy in their research, which is associated with the level of bioavailable testosterone in the blood. In this therapy, the testosterone of a male is being replaced to reduce the impact of Andropause in the affected aging male. This therapy has been found to be effective for controlling the problem of Andropause, but it entices several other risk factors, which can also pose severe critical health problems in male hormones. Instead of this therapy, there are several medications by which the impact of Andropause in an aging man can be reduced. Andropause is a natural and a usual problem which is associated with men in their middle ages. However, the potential risks, which are associated with this issue, are significantly critical for which it is essential that a consultancy of a professional expert is acquired when an individual experiences such symptoms. Awareness of this problem is essential to reduce the impact of this problem along with the exposure which men can have regarding this problem. References Hijazi, R. A., & Cunningham, G. R. (2005). Andropause: Is Androgen Replacement Therapy Indicated for the Aging Male? Annual Review of Medicine, 117-137. Tan, R. S. (2001). The Andropause mystery: Unraveling truths about the male menopause. Houston: Amred Consulting Llc. Vermeulen, A. (2000). Andropause. Maturitas, 5–15. Read More