One in 10 NHS trusts has ‘manopause’ policy helping male staff members cope with ‘man boobs’

Around ten per cent of hospital trusts have inherited polices to help staff members suffering from the male menopause – despite the NHS describing the term as “unhelpful and misleading”.

The condition, which isn’t clinically recognised, is caused by a fall in testosterone levels which can result in symptoms such as weight gain, anxiety and depression.

Some men are undertaking testosterone replacement therapy, yet many doctors believe that comparing it in the same light as the menopause is unnecessary.

According to hormone specialist at Imperial College London, Dr Channa Jayasena, the diagnosis and treatment of male ‘manopause’ and female menopause are considerably different.

He said: “Supporting the term ‘manopause’ is a real missed opportunity.”

He added that it “does a disservice and harms the very people who I think well-meaning people to do with staffing are trying to protect.

“These men don’t have menopause. These men will, by and large, have reduced health. They may be smokers, obese, inactive. If you really want to help them, as an employer, help them with these problems.”

Other symptoms for men are loss of sex drive, loss of muscle mass and ‘man boobs’ which is technically known as gynaecomastia.

Between 2011 and 2018, GP prescriptions for testosterone replacement therapy increased by nearly 50 per cent despite the benefit for the treatment only effecting a minority of men.

The NHS calls the male menopause “an unhelpful term sometimes used in the media.

“The label is misleading because it suggests the symptoms are the result of a sudden drop in testosterone in middle age, similar to what occurs the female menopause.

“This is not true.”