4 ms·

"One particularly disturbing study, published in the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism in 2007, indicated that men’s testosterone levels plummete

"One particularly disturbing study, published in the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism in 2007, indicated that men’s testosterone levels plummeted 17 percent from 1987 to 2004—and that’s controlling for health and lifestyle factors, such as obesity and diabetes, that are known to affect T levels. The study found not only that individual men were losing testosterone as they aged (which is fairly normal), but that same-age men from later eras had substantially lower T than their predecessors: a man who turned 65 in 2002, for example, had much lower T than a man who turned 65 in 1987." [1] While I don't doubt that social and economic pressures have a lot to do with decreased occurrences of sexual relations in the US, it's quite possible that decreases in average testosterone levels are also a factor. Low testosterone is highly correlated with a decreased sex drive. [1] https://www.huffpost.com/entry/the-mystery-of-declining-testosterone_b_59fcc5fbe4b0d467d4c224b3 https://www.huffpost.com/entry/the-mystery-of-declining-test...

GGfpc 7y ago
Could this be related to less manual labor and less exercise in consequence?
- deftnerd 7y ago
  I suppose, but they did say that they accounted for health and lifestyle factors, so I'm pretty sure that means that it's another cause they hadn't pinned down at the time of the study. From what I understand, the current theory is chemicals used to make plastic more pliable ended up being endocrine inhibitors, which decrease testosterone production. BPA, and other similar chemicals. Also, reports that many flame retardant chemicals do the same thing. The law requires that furniture with fabric and curtains and things like that have those chemicals to lower risks of fire. But, those chemical treatments physically break down into dust and we get exposed to them. There are probably other contributing factors too.
- quotemstr 7y ago
  We also see a steep decline in testosterone in dogs. Sure, we could be seeing two unrelated phenomena operating at the same time, but for the moment, we should operate under the assumption that the testosterone declines in dogs and men have a common etiology. If we do so, we rule out a ton of prospective causes.

GGfpc 7y ago

Could this be related to less manual labor and less exercise in consequence?

deftnerd 7y ago
I suppose, but they did say that they accounted for health and lifestyle factors, so I'm pretty sure that means that it's another cause they hadn't pinned down at the time of the study. From what I understand, the current theory is chemicals used to make plastic more pliable ended up being endocrine inhibitors, which decrease testosterone production. BPA, and other similar chemicals. Also, reports that many flame retardant chemicals do the same thing. The law requires that furniture with fabric and curtains and things like that have those chemicals to lower risks of fire. But, those chemical treatments physically break down into dust and we get exposed to them. There are probably other contributing factors too.
quotemstr 7y ago
We also see a steep decline in testosterone in dogs. Sure, we could be seeing two unrelated phenomena operating at the same time, but for the moment, we should operate under the assumption that the testosterone declines in dogs and men have a common etiology. If we do so, we rule out a ton of prospective causes.