Submitted by St4nM4rsh t3_yoq6aw in askscience
I've seen people talk about a global decrease in the test levels of men due to modern lifestyles, reasons like stress, plastic pollutants, bad sleep, unhealthy diet, etc. What does r/askscience have to say about this? Could this phenomenon be true?
Do we have any data of testosterone levels before WW2? Do we observe the expected anticorrelation with respect to the increase in plastic consumption?
As far as I know there are no resources about testosterone levels before WW2 because the hormone science is incredibly new. The very first hormone (cant remember which one) was discovered around 1905, insulin around 1920, and sex hormones only some years later (the discovery of testosterone happened first on rats, so you see.. From discovering something to collect data about humans, the step is enormous)
Endocrinology became a part of medicine well after the WW2, and testosterone levels began being measured only in the 60s./70s.
So, from the 70s to the 20s of our century, a drop of 50% of testosterone levels has been found. Scientists agree that the main reason for this is the hormone distruptors in our products. I also read that another smaller reason is that obesity has increased, and fat creates estrogen, which in men would lower testosterone.
Thanks for your insightful replies! Do you know if the lower testosterone levels affect men outside of fertility? As in cognition, emotions, etc.
Yes, most definitely. Men with low testosterone levels often feel depression and fatigue. Physically, they might have less body hair (or none) and appear "rounder". Low testosterone also means low sex drive and erectile dysfunction. Depression and fatigue is a problem also for women with hormone problems, among all the other ailments. Having messed up estrogens and testosterone is bad for the entire body, not only for fertility. Sex hormones affect our brain, our organs, and having the right balance of hormones also protect us from some cancers.
Thanks for your answer! I also appreciate you giving the information about women!
I know more about the women side of this, so I am asking more about the men side: do you think that men who have depression should check their testosterone levels as one of the first things? Can these cases be fixed via that route?
Yes, definitely! I think that when it comes to depression, the first thing is to check for the possible physical reasons that might cause it, and afterwards going for the mental ones. It's possible to raise the testosterone level with medication. On YouTube you can find many videos of men telling their stories and how they went about solving it.
Awesome, thanks for the info!
I see. It would be interesting to measure in those South American tribes, who don't have much contact with the rest of the world.
I see. Thank you for the response! Is the drop significant? What are some changes we can make to our modern lifestyle? Like, switching from plastic water bottles to metal water bottles?
The drop is incredibly significant, because it's around 50%. You can find many articles about this online. What people can do is to eliminate plastics completely, not only replacing the utensils we use to eat and drink, but also those products that are packaged with plastic (for example cuts of meats that come in stryrofoam trays and are sorrounded by a thin layer of plastic). Replacing utensils is quite easy, while the second example I mentioned is a whole another story. But you can start with plates, cutlery and bottles. If you want to carry around a bottle you can refill, make sure you buy one that is "BPA free". Another thing you can replace are tupperwares. Again, look for those that are "BPA free". You can find them online.
Hormones distruptors are also found in cosmetics, in shower gels and shampoos. You can try to replace those as well. In this case, look for products that are "parabens free". Products that are highly fragranced also are likely to carry hormones distruptors.
Oh, and also clothes can contain some of these toxins. Mostly fast fashion and clothes made of polyester. This is a hard one because clothes that are made of natural materials are way more expensive. However, they last longer and are made of a better quality. And btw, luxury brands do not equal quality clothes. I've checked the labels of many very high fashion clothes and they still were made of synthetic frabrics. So my suggestion is, forget about brands and look at the materials used.
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Pretty big assumption to assume the sole reason for those different traits is testosterone level.
Is there any explanation for this?
What is gonna happen if in the future it keeps decreasing?
Evolution.
Humans may have domesticated a lot of animals, but the one creature we've domesticated the most is ourselves.
Since testosterone is an immune inhibitor, and since diseases rise in frequency with greater population density, it would've made sense for men with lower levels to fare far better than their manlier counterparts. Also makes for better neighbors.
Thanks, interesting!
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liliesinthevalley- t1_ivh21l9 wrote
This phenomenon is true, is has been proven. One major factor are the hormone distruptors found in plastics, that we consume every day (think about how many times we drink from a plastic bottle, or how often we eat out of plastic plates with plastic forks). Not only they affect men, but they also have a huge impact on women's hormone levels that are linked to PCOS and other syndromes of the ovaries.