This report focuses on a number of specific conditions that are known to be highly prevalent throughout the aging male population worldwide. There are numerous non-cancer, co-morbid disease states have been shown to adversely affect males over the age of 50. Included are problems such as diabetes mellitus (DM), metabolic syndrome, cardiovascular disease (CVD), erectile dysfunction (ED) hypogonadism, depression and benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH). These conditions are discussed with special attention aimed at highlighting any associated links that might exist between them in the setting of male aging.
A literature search was conducted on MedLine and PubMed using the key words aging male, DM, metabolic syndrome, CVD, ED, hypogonadism, depression, BPH, quality of life (QoL) and other related key words. The National Institutes of Health (NIH), Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and World Health Organization (WHO) conference proceedings and other pertinent reports were also reviewed.
Much of the research to date has done very little to establish whether a cause and effect phenomenon exists between the above conditions. However, many have shown that a strong association exists. It is known that the pathogenesis of several of these problems, for example CVD, and ED, is similar. This calls attention to the fact that more detailed investigation is needed in this area of male aging in order to better delineate when and where intervention may be necessary.
Several studies have shown that symptoms of sexual dysfunction and hypogonadism may be early warning markers of important men's health issues, such as cardiovascular disease, diabetes, metabolic syndrome, depression and benign prostatic hyperplasia. The new and evolving concept of endothelial dysfunction in the setting of these conditions further highlights the need for a comprehensive assessment rather than a singular approach when caring for the growing male population. Symptoms of sexual dysfunction may be the manifestation that presents an opportunity to detect the other disorders and hopefully modify patients' behavior to improve men's health.
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