Feeling tired may be due to lack of testosterone
Zhang Zhichao, Deputy Director of the Andrology Center of Peking University First Hospital
Mr. Cheng is the boss of a company. He is 48 years old and is heading for the top of his career. But for more than a year, when he entered the office every day and faced mountains of documents and endless meetings, he no longer had the original passion, but felt exhausted.
Men may be sick if they are too tired
Many people think that it is normal for men to go downhill in energy and physical strength when they reach middle age, so they are tired, depressed, and have low libido insomnia They don't care about such problems, they think they are "old". This view is actually wrong. According to modern andrology theory, these may be pathological and need medical intervention.
Generally speaking, after the age of 30, the number of male testicular cells that secrete androgen begins to decrease, but because of the strong compensatory function of the testis, the physiological function will not be affected. At the age of 50, the testicular level will decline significantly, androgen secretion and semen quality will also decline, and some people will show signs of delayed hypogonadism (LOH), such as fatigue, poor sleep, hot flashes and sweating, and low libido, commonly known as "male menopause". At this time, men's coronary heart disease 、 diabetes Metabolism related diseases also often come to us, and promote each other with LOH, accelerating the formation of LOH.
Testosterone deficiency is a sign of aging
LOH used to be a problem for men over 50 years old. Now more and more men are fighting with LOH in their 40s. Today, people's living standards have improved, but the level of reproductive health has declined, and men's aging has advanced. There are two main reasons for this: first, long-term mental pressure, anxiety and tension will keep the human body in a state of stress for a long time; second, serious environmental pollution.
Why does a decrease in androgen secretion cause men to age? Testosterone is the most important active component of androgen. Testosterone not only maintains men's reproductive ability, but also participates in the operation of various systems throughout the body: it affects the brain and is closely related to human initiative, computing ability, directional ability, emotion and cognition; Increase muscle mass, muscle strength and bone mass; Stimulate hematopoietic cells to generate red blood cells; Regulate blood sugar, blood lipid metabolism, etc. It can be said that testosterone deficiency is a sign of aging in men. At present, to diagnose LOH, doctors usually use a scale combined with laboratory tests.
The treatment of LOH is of great significance to men. On the one hand, it can delay aging, on the other hand, it can comprehensively improve his quality of life. In fact, it also benefits women and society. We can start from the following points:
1. Balanced nutrition. 2. Exercise and change the bad lifestyle of smoking, drinking, sitting, staying up late, etc. 3. Keep a good relationship between husband and wife. 4. Actively treat coronary heart disease, diabetes and other chronic diseases. 5. Supplement androgen as needed, such as oral testosterone undecanoate capsules. Generally speaking, patients under the age of 50 can take drugs in stages; Patients over 65 years old need to take medicine for a long time due to their poor compensatory ability. During this period, prostate, blood and other indicators should be monitored.
See "Gender Health", the 10th edition of Family Health News, March 11, 2014
