Late onset hypogonadism

doi:10.1136/bmj.b352

Published 13 February 2009, doi:10.1136/bmj.b352
Cite this as: BMJ 2009;338:b352

Editorials

Late onset hypogonadism

Guidelines exist for diagnosis, but long term studies of treatmentare needed

The first 150 words of the full text of this article appear below.

Male hypogonadism is defined as a clinical syndrome complex,which comprises symptoms—with or without signs—andbiochemical evidence of testosterone deficiency. Longitudinalpopulation studies show that testosterone concentrations graduallydecline with age.¹ One recent study reported the prevalenceof hypogonadism to be 4.2% between 30 and 50 years and 8.4%between 50 and 79 years, although other studies have indicatedthat it may be higher.²

The terminology to explain the development of hypogonadism withageing is controversial. Terms such as male menopause and andropauseimply that all men develop this condition, which is not thecase. The term late onset hypogonadism has been proposed asa clearer clinical description and is now the preferred terminologyof several major international societies.³ Late onset hypogonadismis defined as "a clinical and biochemical syndrome associatedwith advancing age and characterised by typical symptoms anda deficiency in serum testosterone levels. It may significantlyreduce . . . [Full text of this article]