So far, it has always been believed that only women undergo menopause. However, a study recently published in the New England Journal of Medicine has revealed some of the symptoms men undergo in what is being termed as the male menopause, such as, depression, fatigue and an inability to perform sexual activity. While, every woman undergoes the ritual of menopause, only a small percentage of males experience the process as they age, and though male menopause exists, it is rare, researchers conclude.

According to researchers from the University of Manchester’s Development and Regenerative Bio-medicine Research Group in England, who included nearly 3,369 men aged 40 to 79 years in the sample, only around 2% of men experience male menopause. The men were surveyed on topics like their sexual, psychological, and physical health, including collecting blood samples daily to test the men’s testosterone levels.

Clinically, male menopause is known as late onset hypo-gonadism, which tests indicates is linked to health problems and obesity, some of the commonly cited symptoms indicating men are going through a menopause, include changes in sleeping patterns, poor concentration, feeling worthless, and anxiety, and which were found not to have any association with low testosterone levels.

These findings will prove useful to doctors in identifying men potentially at risk of menopause and starting them on a testosterone replacement therapy.

There are those who believe the symptoms in the tests are normal occurring in men as they age, and should not be classified as a medical condition, as the researchers believe the condition could be over diagnosed in men. Already, the percentage of men in USA taking hormone therapy has increased almost 400% since 1999.

It is not yet known whether the men benefit from the testosterone therapy, however, after age thirty, testosterone levels in men decrease by nearly 1% every year after crossing the big three O!