Throughout a person’s life, the individual travels six main cycles:

• Fetus, development in the womb.
• Infancy, complete dependency on caregivers.
• Childhood involves puberty with significant physical and cognitive development.
• Adolescence, with significant physical and hormonal changes.
• Adulthood, displaying full development and maturity.
• Old Age, marked by a decline in physical and possibly cognitive abilities.

Each of these cycles presents distinctive challenges. In the case of the Old Age, there are general differences and similarities across sexes, and this period presents physical, cognitive, and emotional changes that are well-known and studied in women but not so much in men.

The “change of life” is the colloquial term popularly assigned to the changes undergone by woman as they reach Menopause and the end of their menstrual cycles due to a sharp decline in Estrogen and Progesterone levels.

Women during this period often go through hot flashes, mood swings, depression, insomnia, and reduced libido. There are also physical changes, such as decreased bone density and vaginal dryness, among others.

These myriads of symptoms, proper of this cycle, are better recognized as having been better, fully studied in women than in men. In fact, it’s the case that often, in the medical community, the “change of life” is not the subject of attention. Either because of men’s tendencies not to seek help with the frequency of women and/or due to the less drastic, sharp decline in men’s Testosterone levels.

The “change of life” in men, often called Andropause, is marked by a gradual—around 1% per year after age 30—decline in Testosterone levels, which may, in some cases, also occur later in life than Menopause. However, men are known to experience mood changes, irritability, sleep disturbances, decreased sexual desires, and even hot flashes—not as pronounced and frequent as in women.

Additional manifestations of these hormonally induced changes in men may include low energy, decreased muscle mass and strength, increased body fat, and hair loss. Also, Cognitive symptoms, such as brain fog, difficulty concentrating, and memory issues, are common.

During this period, men will also experience psychological or emotional symptoms secondary to Hypogonadism. Depression, due to reduced stimulation of Testosterone receptors in the brain, is very common and often not considered a differential diagnosis when assessing an older man with complaints of depression.

Also, anxiety, mood swings, irritability, and stress are often found. It’s well known that Testosterone is linked to higher cortisol levels and has a bidirectional correlation with Obstructive Sleep Apnea. OSA reduces REM sleep, which is essential for Testosterone production.

As we can see, men also experience a whole array of symptoms that mirror that “change of life” in women of the same age. Both men and women, once they reach old age, experience a marked decrease in hormonal levels and a full array of physical, cognitive, and psychological symptoms that affect their health, well-being, and functioning.