Decreased hair growth, hot flashes, mood disorders, decreased libido, erectile problems, etc. Andropause, which refers to the testosterone deficiency associated with the natural aging of cisgender men, can cause a number of symptoms. However, this phenomenon, also called “male menopause” by some media, is not recognized by the medical profession. “Any explanation of andropause must start from the fact that it doesn’t exist,” Dr. Alexandre Höhl, former president of the Brazilian Society of Endocrinology and Metabolism (SBEM), said last November 26, as quoted by the BBC. “The term is a neologism created from the concept of menopause,” he explains. However, if the production of estrogen in women gradually stops, and they stop ovulating with menopause, “in men, the same process is not”, our British colleagues underline. A decline in blood testosterone levels can occur at any age and is progressive — between about 1% and 2% per year starting at age 30, suggests the online medical consultation site Livy. Unlike women, a decrease in sex hormones in men does not imply disruption of reproductive capabilities. But for the feminist journalist and author of the book Alice Thibaut “This is my time: Menopause, Andropause and other climactic adventures” (ed. Au diable Vovert), published this Thursday, March 7, 2024, the reasons for not recognizing Andropause by medicine, elsewhere Living.
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Andropause, the “assault on virility” according to patriarchy.
“The literal meaning of the word andropause, oddly based on the word menopause, is the end of a man,” she observes. Indeed, instead of “menos” (menstruation or cycle), “andros” means “man” in Greek, and “pause” gives the name to stop. As if erectile dysfunction is directly linked to the end of manhood.
“Given that andropause calls virility into question, doctors, historically mainly men, have a very strong reluctance to imagine that they could be affected by something that would be a pathology”, she believes. In her work, Alice Thibaut lifted the curtain on the first official appearance of the word “andropause” in the “Alphabetical Manual of Psychiatry” in 1952, which we attribute to the French psychiatrist Antoine Porot. “The fact that this word is put into history by a psychiatrist is not important,” she emphasizes.
“Symptoms frequently seen in men at climacteric are minimized or even ignored”
“Women’s bodies have been systematically pathologized since the early 19th century,” the journalist further lamented. “The male body is considered a standard that has not been reached in time. We insist on the fact that men remain fertile until death, greatly discounting the fact that their spermatozoa, their sex gametes, degenerate with age and their can endanger the health of children born from intercourse. Continued. According to Alice Thibaut, the received idea that men’s bodies are static and undergo minimal, if not minimal, changes, “ie climacteric ( Symptoms that appear most frequently in men during periods of hormonal change, editor’s note). ), around 50-60 years of age, is minimized or even ignored.” And added: “Men’s health receives little attention. However, they are culturally more likely to take more risks with their health, consume more alcohol. tend to do, not practice preventive medicine and ignore the signals sent to them by their bodies, relying on the myth that nothing can happen to them, because they are good people. »
Minimum stats?
According to statistics, andropause does not affect all men. A decrease in testosterone secretion, which increases with age, affects 10 to 20% of men after the age of 50, and up to 50% of them after the age of 70, suggests the French Association of Urology. According to a European study presented by Livy, only 2% of men between the ages of 40 and 79 suffer from symptoms. So, is the lack of recognition of andropause by doctors also linked to this data? “Everyone goes through the climacteric, and everyone goes through the hormonal metamorphosis associated with age,” explains Alice Thibaut. But there is extraordinary variability in the manifestations of this climacteric in men, as in women. We can hardly talk about a reliable percentage, in my opinion, it is a bit of a wet finger,” she believes.
“It’s going to be a matter of really paying attention to what’s going on in the bodies and minds of women and men.”
Few men suffer from andropause, and while men remain fertile throughout their lives, scientists prefer to talk about male hypogonadism while urologists talk about age-related androgen deficiency (ALAD). “In this case, you have to go see someone to check if you have it,” the author emphasizes. The men are then given doses of testosterone between 7 and 11 a.m., which coincides with the morning secretion peak. “When it comes to supplementing men with testosterone, we are extremely cautious. However, it took 25 years to assess the risks associated with taking estrogen by postmenopausal women. This is another sign of unequal conceptions of men’s and women’s health,” laments Elise Thibaut. expresses.
In this context, the essayist asks to recognize the climacteric as an “event” similar to puberty, which results in changes in the body, new problems in society and intimate life. “With age, some men rush to take Viagra out of shame or because they’ve been conditioned that way, even if it means taking more risks for their health,” she emphasizes. It will be a question of really paying attention to what is happening in the bodies and minds of women and men as they go through these stages, that we listen to them with compassion to help them live better. ” insists Elise Thibaut. And to conclude: “This publicly acknowledges the idea of a certain vulnerability of men connected to the body, health and sexuality. »
