{"id":7757,"date":"2026-01-20T18:12:04","date_gmt":"2026-01-20T17:12:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.benarroche-urologie.fr\/urology\/testosterone-its-role-symptoms-of-decline-and-when-to-consult-a-doctor\/"},"modified":"2026-08-27T13:01:35","modified_gmt":"2026-08-27T12:01:35","slug":"testosterone-its-role-symptoms-of-decline-and-when-to-consult-a-doctor","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.benarroche-urologie.fr\/en\/testosterone\/testosterone-its-role-symptoms-of-decline-and-when-to-consult-a-doctor\/","title":{"rendered":"Decreased testosterone in men: symptoms, causes and management"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Testosterone is the key hormone for male health. While it is often associated with sexuality, its action is actually systemic: regulating energy, muscle mass, bone mineralization, mood, and metabolism. <\/p>\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">From the age of 30 to 40, circulating levels physiologically decline by approximately 1% per year. In some cases, this decline becomes more pronounced and leads to a significant deficiency (hypogonadism), with a direct impact on quality of life and fertility. <\/p>\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>What is the purpose of testosterone in men?<\/strong>  Secreted primarily by Leydig cells in the testicles (under the control of the pituitary gland), testosterone plays a role at several levels:<\/p>\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Sexual sphere:<\/strong> maintenance of libido, quality of erections and support of spermatogenesis.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Body composition:<\/strong> preservation of muscle mass, regulation of fat mass and bone strength.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Cognitive and psychological functions:<\/strong> energy level, motivation, mental clarity and mood stability.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>What are the signs of a testosterone deficiency?<\/strong>  A low level doesn&#8217;t only result in sexual problems. The most common clinical manifestations include: <\/p>\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Chronic fatigue and an unexplained loss of vitality.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>A marked decrease in sexual desire and less frequent or less rigid morning erections.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Progressive muscle loss associated with abdominal fat gain.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Sleep disturbances, irritability, or &#8220;brain fog&#8221;.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>A decrease in fertility (oligospermia, alteration of sperm parameters).<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><em>  Since these symptoms are non-specific, they are not sufficient to make a diagnosis without biological testing.<\/em><\/p>\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>How to diagnose a hormonal deficiency?<\/strong>  The diagnosis is based on the strict correlation between clinical symptoms and biological data:<\/p>\n\n<ol start=\"1\" class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Morning fasting blood test:<\/strong> total testosterone (and ideally bioavailable or free testosterone, associated with SHBG) should be measured between 8 a.m. and 10 a.m.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Biological confirmation:<\/strong> a second test is systematically carried out a few weeks later to confirm the anomaly.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Etiological investigation assessment:<\/strong> measurement of gonadotropins (LH, FSH), prolactin and complete metabolic assessment (blood glucose, lipid profile, liver function tests).<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>What are the possible causes?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Primary testicular involvement:<\/strong> history of cryptorchidism, trauma, chemotherapy or presence of a <strong>varicocele<\/strong> .<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Metabolic factors and lifestyle:<\/strong> overweight\/visceral obesity, metabolic syndrome, type 2 diabetes, obstructive sleep apnea (OSA), chronic stress and sedentary lifestyle.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Central origin (hypothalamic-pituitary):<\/strong> pituitary adenoma, hyperprolactinemia or prolonged use of certain treatments.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>What are the treatment options?<\/strong>  The treatment is always personalized and tailored to the cause and the desire for a child:<\/p>\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Optimizing lifestyle habits:<\/strong> regular physical activity (especially muscle strengthening), dietary rebalancing, and addressing any sleep apnea syndrome. This often helps restore sufficient endogenous production. <\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Treatment of a urological cause:<\/strong> in the case of associated clinical varicocele, a cure by subinguinal microsurgery often allows a significant increase in natural testosterone levels.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Hormone replacement therapy (HRT):<\/strong> indicated in cases of proven hypogonadism resistant to lifestyle and dietary measures (transdermal gels, intramuscular injections). <strong>Caution:<\/strong> exogenous testosterone blocks the gonadotropic axis and stops sperm production; it is therefore contraindicated in men planning to father children in the short or medium term.  <\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>When to consult?<\/strong>  A consultation with a specialist in andrology is recommended in cases of persistent fatigue associated with decreased libido, established erectile dysfunction, or difficulties with fertility in the context of being overweight or having a varicocele. A targeted assessment helps identify the cause of the problem and implement an appropriate medical solution. <\/p>\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><em>Dr Davy Benarroche \u2014 Urologist and andrologist surgeon in Paris, specializing in men&#8217;s health and fertility.<\/em><\/p>\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Testosterone is the key hormone for male health. While it is often associated with sexuality, its action is actually systemic: regulating energy, [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":4139,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[104],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-7757","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-testosterone"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.benarroche-urologie.fr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7757","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.benarroche-urologie.fr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.benarroche-urologie.fr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.benarroche-urologie.fr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.benarroche-urologie.fr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7757"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.benarroche-urologie.fr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7757\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":7978,"href":"https:\/\/www.benarroche-urologie.fr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7757\/revisions\/7978"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.benarroche-urologie.fr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/4139"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.benarroche-urologie.fr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7757"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.benarroche-urologie.fr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7757"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.benarroche-urologie.fr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7757"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}