The lack of the hormone testosterone in men is often credited for starting the male menopause called Andropause. Andropause is characterised by lack of sex drive and desire, weak erections, erectile dysfunction and low sexual stamina. Recent research shows that it may affect as many as six out of ten men over the age of sixty but other people argue that the male menopause is just a myth and the symptoms are just the result of unhealthy living, being overweight, excess drinking and old age.

Those who say that Andropause exists say that most of the symptoms point to a lack of the male hormone testosterone. However a recent conference on the subject held by the European Congress of Endocrinology in Glasgow discussed new information that says that Andropause is not as evident in men as it is commonly thought.

The conference discussed research that was conducted in Finland that looked into the effects of replacing the hormone testosterone in males. The reserach was hampered due to the lack of suitable volunteers coming forward. However out of 16,000 males from the ages of 40-70 who were questioned about these problems and especially andropause, only 250 when tested had low testosterone in the blood and when further evaluation of the participants was taken into account it was found that only 37 had low testosterone that could be shown not to be related to any other medical condition that they suffered from.

Despite the fact that the research had to be called to a halt due to not getting enough men to willingly participate the study seemed to show that the incidence of andropause was very low and that those suffering from andropause with no other health complications was very rare.

The research could have implication for the prescribing of hormone replacement therapy (HRT) to middle aged men. Some Doctors feel that giving HRT to men for Andropause could be dangerous as low testosterone may be an indication of some other underlying illness and not just Andropause. Very little research into the long term effects of giving men HRT has been conducted to date and the treatment could cause possible side effects. HRT could be linked to a speeding up of prostate cancer problems and be a reason for the cancer forming initially.

The debate continue on the existence of andropause and the efficacy of HRT for men with some arguing that its proponents were just being led by pharmaceutical firms who were making money from the testosterone injections.