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Men's average testosterone levels have halved in last 50 years

theguardian.com

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Re: Men's average testosterone levels have halved in last 50 years

#81

Post by eudamoniac »

BobbyTables2 wrote: post #56

I really wonder, what is “normal”? One class of doctors thinks roughly 250 is enough for a middle aged guy - anything over shouldn’t be medically treated. Of course, the “men’s clinics” don’t rest until it’s over 1000... With the standard range so wide (even after age adjustment), why isn’t it measured annually, like the CBC and others? Sure, it’s easy to point at obesity, but statistical ranges completely fail the i…

The effect is so variable that the reference range is nigh meaningless. Some people feel great at 300ng/dL. Some people experience genuine low-T symptoms at 650 that are fixed by bumping it to 1000. Some people are naturally over 1000 and have otherwise average hormonal profile (hair growth, muscle growth).

Also, the reference range is defined by an age span that is too wide to be useful, something like 21-59. The reference range is completely meaningless for a 25 year old man. Also the level varies drastically throughout days and weeks, so that one test is not a useful indicator of anything unless it's off the charts.

Basically, if you have low-T symptoms you should probably just get on T regardless of what number the test says. Find a doctor who agrees.

Re: Men's average testosterone levels have halved in last 50 years

#82

Post by tancop »

ibero wrote: post #27
OldSchool wrote: post #15

I'm old, but I get this subjective read: of my friends and even family who had sons, they seemed smaller and less bold than we were 50 years ago.

less bold? what do you mean?

less willing to take risks and be independent. less active and staying at home for more time. but thats almost all down to controlling parents who teach their kids to be scared of everything and dont let them go out alone, and the news channels feeding that fear.

some of it might also be social media (fear of public embarrassment) but one thing its definitely not is any kind of large scale hormonal change. culture beats biology almost every time when it comes to social behavior and there is no evidence that its different in this case.

Re: Men's average testosterone levels have halved in last 50 years

#84

Post by mellosouls »

rsynnott wrote: post #79
mellosouls wrote: post #18

[flagged]

... Wait, what would the mechanism of action be there?! Like, if the choice of explanations is (a) obesity, and maybe some pesticide stuff, who knows, or (b) _witchcraft_, Occam's razor points a particular way.

Glib "witchcraft" comment - see the HN guidelines for how not to counter. I proposed socio-cultural mechanisms as possibly influential.

https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html

Re: Men's average testosterone levels have halved in last 50 years

#85

Post by mellosouls »

janalsncm wrote: post #39
mellosouls wrote: post #18

[flagged]

Unsurprisingly, the authors didn’t name “women’s rights” or any other feminism-adjacent culture war issues as a cause of declining testosterone. They did name obesity and diabetes. In other words, if you’re looking for a boogeyman, blame sedentary lifestyles and ultra processed foods.

"sedentary lifestyles" is certainly the sort of thing that can be influenced in the manner I suggested (traditional cultural roles being championed or subverted). I don't see why dietary choices shouldn't be either.

Re: Men's average testosterone levels have halved in last 50 years

#86

Post by unparagoned »

janalsncm wrote: post #33

Before the reactions to the headline get too out of hand, the article says the study couldn’t rule out that obesity and diabetes might drive this change. Occam’s Razor leads me to lean on this more than any other exotic explanation. Of course, PFAS and microplastics aren’t great for sperm health, but neither were leaded gasoline and DDT before they were curtailed.

I’m pretty sure other experts are also saying that it’s due to a different way of measuring levels.

Re: Men's average testosterone levels have halved in last 50 years

#87

Post by standardUser »

scottyah wrote: post #31
standardUser wrote: post #17

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Seems like a minor issue, since most men only utilize their sperm two or three times in their entire lives, if at all. Maybe men should be freezing sperm while they're young and virile.

Just because you don't always hit a home run doesn't mean you don't need a bat.

If hitting a home run is getting a woman pregnant, then I'd wager men are hoping to strike out in 3 pitches during 99.5% of their at bats.
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