Andropause: an androgen deficiency state in the ageing male

Abstract

An age-related decline in circulating testosterone levels has been shown to occur in the adult male population starting as early as middle age and continuing on into old age. This decline in testosterone has been associated with a number of changes in body composition and sexual performance in the male that are directly attributable to an androgen deficiency state, which can be restored by the use of testosterone replacement therapy. The term 'andropause' has been used to describe this gradual drop in testosterone in the ageing male and is characterised by different endocrine, somatic and psychic changes that become more pronounced as the male gets older. For some males, the adjustment of circulating testosterone levels with replacement therapy to levels seen in young men can improve physical performance, induce a sense of well-being and restore the androgen-dependent sex drive that declines with ageing.