NHS wasting millions on drugs for male menopause
MIDDLE-AGED men are wrongly being prescribed drugs to treat the ‘male menopause’ – costing the NHS millions a year and leading to serious side-effects.
Many patients given male hormone testosterone complain of fatigue, erectile dysfunction and disturbed moods.
But a study found that many of these are due to conditions often caused by lifestyle, such as obesity or diabetes, rather than ageing.
Testosterone prescriptions have shot up 20 per cent since 2012 – costing the NHS £20million a year.
Researchers claim doctors are being increasingly influenced by drug companies who market the treatment by suggesting it will help men get ‘their oomph back’.
Two different drugs – testosterone and testosterone undecanoate – are among the top ten most prescribed controlled drugs for the first time. Testosterone can increase muscle mass and body hair. Negative side-effects include a higher chance of strokes and heart attacks.
Men’s libidos can flag and physical endurance levels can drop due to a dip in testosterone. This is known as ‘late-onset hypogonadism’ and is seen to be a symptom of the male menopause, also known as the ‘andropause’.
But it is usually caused by underlying factors, such as obesity and diabetes in older age, research in doctors’ magazine Pulse suggests.
Royal College of GPs prescribing advisor and North Wales GP Dr Martin Duerden said he is concerned testosterone is increasingly being used in the UK to treat ‘the male menopause’ among those with reduced energy and libido, ‘rather like oestrogen has been used in women as an “anti-ageing” product in the past’.
He added: ‘I think we should use these products very cautiously unless there are clear clinical explanations for hypogonadism other than age.’
Many doctors refuse to accept that the male menopause even exists. Unlike in the female menopause, where hormone levels drop suddenly, in men testosterone levels dip gradually.
But Prof Mike Kirby, GP and visiting professor to the Prostate Centre, London, says: ‘Since the introduction of Viagra, and more interest in erectile problems, more men are being tested for testosterone deficiency – that’s been a major driver of it.’
He explained that the rise shows GPs are more aware of testosterone deficiency.
However, Dr Andrew Green, of the BMA’s General Practitioners Committee and a GP in East Yorkshire, warned: ‘Patients with nonspecific symptoms or indeed just the normal changes in sexual function that happen with age are influenced by articles in magazines and request testing, which can then result in expectation to prescribe for low-normal readings.’
University of Newcastle researchers suggest a link between increased marketing in the medical media of testosterone replacement therapy and a sudden increase in prescriptions.
The team, led by Prof Simon Pearce, reported that while direct-to-consumer marketing is not permitted, ‘the public has virtually unfettered access to pharma websites as key sources of information relating to ageing, erectile dysfunction and the “andropause”.’
‘Getting their oomph back’