What are the early warning indicators of male hormone health risks

The commonly used early warning indicators of male hormone health risks are actually divided into two categories: daily perceptible body surface signals and laboratory test indicators. By the time most people wait for blood tests to detect abnormalities, their bodies have already been showing red lights for several months, and there is no need to wait until that step.

I met a 42-year-old technical director of an Internet company a while ago. He has always maintained the habit of working out three times a week, and his body fat rate has been maintained at around 18% all year round. In the second half of last year, he suddenly stopped wanting to move. When he got home from get off work, he slumped on the sofa and didn’t want to get up. His food was not much different from before. Young, my belly had increased by 8 centimeters in three months. I had to take a breath after climbing the third floor. I always lost my temper with my family. I even joked that I was in "mid-life crisis." Later, when I checked my sex hormones at my work unit, I found that my total testosterone level had dropped to the lowest limit of the normal range, which was lower than the average level of a 55-year-old man in the same hospital.

Many people always think that male hormones are only related to sexual function. In fact, they are the core regulator of physical fitness, metabolism, mood and even bone health. Early warning signs are also hidden in various small details. For example, if the frequency of morning erections decreases significantly for more than three consecutive months, or if the couple's life is incompetent, this is indeed the most intuitive signal, but there is no need to panic as soon as it occurs. Occasional poor status is mostly caused by insufficient rest, and you need to be vigilant only if it lasts for more than three months.

As to whether mood changes are considered early warning indicators, there are actually different voices in the academic community. One school of scholars believes that middle-aged men’s irritability, fatigue, and lack of energy are mostly caused by social pressure and psychological state, and have little to do with hormones. However, in recent years, follow-up surveys of men’s departments in many domestic tertiary hospitals have Data show that, excluding clear psychological triggers, nearly 40% of men with abnormal mood disorders suffer from insufficient testosterone secretion. After supplementing physiological doses of testosterone, the improvement rate of emotional burnout can reach more than 40%, so clinically, persistent mood abnormalities have also been included in the risk reference items.

In addition, there are some small details that are easily overlooked: for example, the muscle mass is lost very quickly without losing weight, and the arm lines that were previously practiced collapsed in less than half a year; or the hair on the whole body becomes sparse, and the leg hair and armpit hair are significantly reduced, although the body is not masculine. Also, even though you have slept for 7-8 hours, you still feel sleepy during the day and cannot concentrate. These may be signs of hormonal disorders.

If you really want to get tested, don’t just focus on testosterone. You should look at the indicators of total testosterone, free testosterone, sex hormone binding globulin, prolactin, and luteinizing hormone. I have met a 30-year-old boy before. I felt that my sexual desire was poor, so I bought testosterone supplements from an internet celebrity. After taking it for three months, my condition got worse. When I went to the hospital, I found out that it was a hormone abnormality caused by prolactin microadenoma. Blindly supplementing testosterone suppressed my own secretion function, masked the original disease, and delayed treatment.

Don’t scare yourself when you see a signal. Occasional differences in status are mostly caused by work and rest and stress. Only if more than two abnormal signals appear for 2-3 consecutive months at the same time, you need to go for a fasting sex hormone test. Don’t buy supplements blindly.