According to a new study low levels of testosterone in males may not provide them with a longer life. The study says that they suffer a greater chance of not reaching to their middle age when compared to those who have higher levels of the testosterone.
The findings of the study are giving proofs that some males could get benefit from the testosterone replacement therapy – which is similar to the hormone replacement therapy in females.
Dr Elizabeth Barrett-Connor, the lead researcher of the study at the University of California’s San Diego School of Medicine, said in a prepared statement:
We are very excited by these findings which have important implications but we are not ready to say that men should go out and get testosterone to prolong their lives. We’re not ready to take this to the prescribing pharmacist.
Testosterone is the male hormone produced in the testes, which accelerates the growth of male sex organs, growth of facial and pubic hairs, hardening of the voice and several other factors. Levels of the hormone vary from one man to another and it began to decline as the man aged and at the time of fatherhood.
This hormone helps in maintaining a person’s sex drive and also the synthesis of sperm cells. Low testosterone levels in males could lead to depression and it can also cause fatigue as well. Low testosterone levels have been associated with low sex drive, mood swinging, weak muscles and higher chances of osteoporosis. The fall in the levels of the male hormone is known as the ‘male menopause’.
The Andropause Society says that half of male aged 50 and 70% of male aged 70 have the problem of low testosterone levels. Few medical clinics give middle-aged male’s testosterone patches to strengthen their libido and lower the mood swinging.
Gail Laughlin, assistant professor in the Department of Family and Preventive Medicine at the University of California, studied nearly 800 males for 18-years and discovered that those males who have low testosterone levels had a 33% higher chance of death than those males who have high testosterone levels.
The males, who had participated in the study, were aged 50 to 91.
The study suggests that the link between testosterone levels and death is not just due to some acute illness. Patient’s lifestyle could help in determining — what level of testosterone he has and that it could be possible to change them by reducing obesity and by being active.
The researchers said that they did not advice to take the supplements to raise the levels of the male hormone.
