Low testosterone affects your whole body. Memory problems, dry skin, and a heart attack can all be signs of low testosterone.
Depression, fatigue and low libido are some of the most well-known symptoms of low testosterone, but did you know that low levels of this male hormone can also affect your bones, heart, brain and your fat mass in a less visible way? Getting a diagnosis of low testosterone requires a blood test to confirm the low level. Some symptoms are more obvious, but others may be gradual and silent. Here are some of the lesser known warning signs of low testosterone.
1. Reduced bone mass
You won’t realize your bones are thinning until they fracture, but a drop in testosterone can help reduce bone mineral density. Supplements can have the opposite effect. A research team gave testosterone supplements for a year to men aged 60 and over who had low testosterone levels. By the end of the study, the men’s bone mineral density had improved.
The research, which was published in the American Journal of Physiology-Endocrinology and Metabolism in February 2014, “showed that testosterone treatment in older men caused a nice increase in bone mineral density in two key areas: lower spine and hip. The mechanism by which low testosterone leads to low bone mineral density is not fully understood, but it likely involves a complex interplay between testosterone, estrogen and bone health.
2. Heart attack or stroke
Currently, the safety of testosterone replacement is hotly debated, but we know what happens when men don’t have testosterone: They are more likely to break bones and experience cardiac events, strokes and heart attacks,” says urologist Mike Butcher, DO, an andrology fellow at Southern Illinois University School of Medicine in Springfield, Illinois. A review published in the November 2014 issue of Andrology looked at 53 published testosterone studies over 10 years. Researchers have found a strong correlation between low testosterone, or hypogonadism, and an increased risk of early death or heart problems.
3. Pain or numbness in the nerves
Testosterone and its derivatives, such as DHT, have recently been shown to repair damage to nerves in the peripheral nervous system, which are not part of the brain or spinal cord. This damage can come from diabetes, chemotherapy, physical injuries and chronic nerve pain. Research published in the March 2014 Journal of Endocrinology examined the role of testosterone in mitigating nerve damage. The researchers concluded that testosterone or its metabolites may play a role in the treatment of neuropathy to prevent numbness and pain. If you have a medical condition such as diabetes and find that your nerve pain and numbness are getting worse, talk to your doctor regarding the possibility that you also have low testosterone.
4. Skin issues
In case of low testosterone levels, the skin can become dry and people with skin conditions such as psoriasis see their condition worsen. Low testosterone might also play a role in worsening chronic skin conditions. When researchers compared men with psoriasis to those without, they found higher levels of testosterone in those without the condition. This research appeared in the May 2015 issue of The Journal of Dermatology.
5. Difficulty losing weight
Men who are overweight tend to have lower testosterone levels. If you’ve been dieting and exercising, and you’re wondering why your excess weight persists, it might be because of your testosterone. When researchers followed 181 obese men, they found that testosterone supplementation reduced their weight by 47 pounds, on average. Testosterone supplementation also helped control blood sugar, improve blood pressure levels and lead to healthier blood lipids, according to the study, published in the July-August 2014 issue of the journal Obesity Research & Clinical Practice.
6. Changes in memory and cognitive abilities
A man’s memory and cognitive abilities can drop along with his testosterone levels, report researchers who tested, over a five-month period, a group of men aged 70 and over who participated in Concord. Health and Aging in Men Project. Another change related to the possible effect of testosterone on cognition is its impact on the ability to perform visual-motor tasks.
Researchers have found that men who undergo androgen deprivation therapy for prostate cancer perform worse on visual motor tests than their peers, according to a study published in the August 2014 issue of Supportive Care in Cancer. . Researchers are only beginning to explore the many ways low testosterone can affect your health. If you’re wondering if there might be a link between your symptoms and low testosterone, ask for a testosterone blood test. This is the only way to get a definitive diagnosis.
