posted August 06, 2000 01:39 AM            

MEN, AGING AND HEALTH

WORLD CONGRESS ADDRESSES

10 February 2000, Geneva - With the numbers of over-65s in the world set to double in the next 50 years, the World Health Organization has described the health of older men as "neglected" and will publish within the next few months a strategic document for its improvement.

The WHO's initiative was announced at the Second World Congress on the Aging Male, "neglected" and will publish within the next few months a strategic document for its improvement, which began yesterday (9 February 2000) in Geneva. The WHO has identified three types of health problems encountered by aging men - major preventable diseases, chronic disabling conditions, and psychosocial problems.

The major cause of death in older men remains coronary heart disease and stroke. This "preventable" disease is the cause of death for 52 million men each year, and is now increasing in incidence in many developing countries. In addition, around one in three men face sexual problems in their later years; one study, for example, found that 5 per cent of men were unable to achieve an erection at the age of 40, and 15 per cent of men at the age of 70.

One medical intervention addressed at this congress is hormone replacement therapy for men. There now seems no doubt that hormone therapy for men works, but more in some men than in others. Dr. Lisa Tenover from Emory University, Atlanta, USA, told the congress that testosterone therapy in older men with low levels of male hormones ("androgen deficiency") can produce striking results. The most important, she said, with major implications for public health policies, had so far been achieved in preventing bone loss and increasing lean body mass and reducing fat in men.

This has now been confirmed in a new Canadian study of androgen-deficient aging men. Dr. Richard Bebb from St. Paul's hospital, Vancouver, reported an increase in bone mass at the spine and hip following 12 months' treatment with oral testosterone undecanoate (Andriol). The study, a randomized placebo-controlled trial, also found that the men given placebo lost bone during the course of the study.
In addition, a randomized trial from Moscow reported here found that the sexual problems of men with androgen deficiency (erectile ability, libido) were improved by treatment with oral testosterone undecanoate (Andriol).

Dr. Tenover in her review of hormone therapy for men said that the most positive results so far were evident in men with androgen deficiency, thus suggesting that men, unlike women, do not experience a sudden change of life brought about by changes in the release of reproductive hormones. The data presented here today suggest rather that men do experience changes in their levels of sex hormones, and health problems may occur when these levels fall below the normal range. Testosterone replacement therapy, according to today's results, seems most beneficial in such men, and may help prevent age-associated disease and improve quality of life.

HA! Ive argued with a lot of people on the subject of Male Menopause, and it seems that the WHO has finally backed me up.
I think this is of interest to all of us, especially in respect to keeping our muscle and health as we age...