Some men have low levels of testosterone because they live unhealthily...

This story all had us sitting up in our chairs at Ukmedix News as it is something that we had previously never heard of! According to the San Diego School of Medicine that is part of the University of California men who have lower levels of testosterone are less likely to live as long as other men who have higher levels of testosterone. In fact the researchers claim that the men with the lower levels of the male hormone have a 33 percent higher chance of dying over an eighteen year time span when compared to men who have higher amounts of the all important testosterone in their blood stream. Over 800 men between the ages of fifty and ninety-one were asked to take part in the research.

A low amount of testosterone in the blood in men is connected to the condition called andropause which is in a sense the male menopause. Man when they start to age can gradually but consistently start to have lower levels of testosterone which can make them feel lethargic and depressed. The depression however is often linked to the fact that they start to experience very low levels of desire for sexual activity and in some cases experience erectile dysfunction.

There are different schools of thought about whether men should be given testosterone replacement therapy to make them feel more energetic and to fuel their sexual desire, however this recent research will add weight to the argument that men should be given testosterone when it starts to wane.

Women are often given hormone replacement therapy when they go through menopause however some doctors feel that more study needs to be done with giving men doses of testosterone as the side effects have not been properly investigated. Nevertheless Ukmedix News is aware that many doctors prescribe testosterone patches and injections to men suffering from andropause.

One thing that does require to be borne in mind is that the reason that some men have low levels of testosterone in their blood could be because they live unhealthily. For example research has shown that men who are overweight and obese tend to have lower levels of testosterone and therefore it could be their unhealthy lifestyles that are causing the lack of testosterone and thus a shorter life span as opposed to just the low testosterone level on its own.