Manopause is ‘very real’
Expert says Irish awareness of the condition is low – and that men should be talking more about it
AWARENESS of the ‘manopause’ in Ireland is low, but it is a very real condition that men should be talking about, a gynaecologist has said.
Professor Barry O’Reilly, director of the aNuMe medical clinic in Cork, said the physical symptoms of the male menopause, caused by gradually decreasing testosterone levels, could be treated.
However, he said men in Ireland tended not to seek treatment, and instead put up with the condition in a stoical fashion.
Prof. O’Reilly said he had become more aware of the manopause from talking to other medics in the US, where he said they were ‘15 years ahead of us in acknowledging things like this’.
He said the UK public was also more aware, thanks to interviews given by pop star Robbie Williams. ‘There’s a medical condition called the andropause, so I guess tongue-in-cheek it was referred to as the manopause,’ he explained. ‘A big thing in the UK was when Robbie Williams stepped forward to acknowledge his andropause.’
Prof. O’Reilly told Newstalk Breakfast that the symptoms can be both seen and unseen. From around the age of 40, men start to lose about 1% of their testosterone per year, which can lead to a loss of sex drive, erectile dysfunction and other physical and emotional symptoms.
Some men develop depression, mood swings and difficulty sleeping. He said the range of symptoms included ‘things like weight gain, increase in abdominal fat, general emotional things like tiredness, lethargy, poor sleep, obvious things like reduced bone density, muscle mass’.
‘I guess we all see hair loss, depression, anxiety, lack in confidence, and of course the sexual problems of reduced libido,’ he continued. ‘Women have an objective loss of periods defining menopause, men don’t have that. It’s more an insidious reduction in testosterone levels as one ages, so it’s more difficult to define and maybe a bit less acknowledged’.
Prof. O’Reilly said men in this country seemed to tolerate the changes. ‘In Ireland I think we’re a more stoic society,’ he said.
Prof. O’Reilly said there can be other external factors affecting a man’s emotional and mental state, such as retirement and a changing family dynamic.
However, he said there were opportunities where testosterone could be replaced and the physiological symptoms could be improved upon, in a similar manner to the many women who have benefited from hormone replacement therapy (HRT).
Last November, singer Williams claimed he was going through the ‘manopause’ and was dealing with thinning hair, reduced sex drive and insomnia.
The former Take That star, 49, said he was ‘knackered’ after years of partying took a toll on his health and even caused a drop in his testosterone levels.