Middle-aged Danish men's ideas of a male climacteric--and of the female climacteric.
The concept of a male climacteric as a parallel to the female climacteric appeared in both popular and scientific literature before 1940. The present population study describes the ideas regarding a male climacteric reported by a sample of men at the ages of 40, 45 and 51. The proportion who believed in the occurrence of a male climacteric decreased as the men became older, although 30% still believed in the phenomenon at the age of 51. Around a fifth (18%) of the 51-year-old men had felt or still felt that they were climacteric. This feeling was significantly related to the men's concern about a climacteric partner and to the presence of 'hot flushes or sweating' in the men. No relation was found with either the men's hormone levels (serum luteinizing hormone and serum free testosterone), or the myths that often surrounded the midlife crisis. The male climacteric therefore seems to serve as an explanation for various common non-specific complaints.
Solstad
K
K
Department of Psychiatry, Rigshospitalet, University of Copenhagen, Denmark.
Garde
K
K
D000328:Adult; D002979:Climacteric; D003718:Denmark; D004644:Emotions; D006801:Humans; D008016:Life Change Events; D008297:Male; D008571:Men / Q000523:psychology*; D008875:Middle Aged; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires