Married men have lower testosterone levels than those who remain single… and the stress of being a father could be the reason, research finds

•  Researchers say data may reflect ‘stresses of family life, propoxyphene generic including children’

Men have long blamed their children for reducing their bank balance, but not yet their testosterone levels.

However research has found married men have lower testosterone on average than those who remain single – and it is possible the stress of having a family may be responsible.

Analysis of 11 scientific studies involving more than 25,000 men found those who are married or in a relationship have lower average testosterone levels.

Interestingly, this was particularly the case in the studies looking at middle-aged men, and less so in older men.

Researchers who did the analysis say ‘this might reflect the stresses of family life, including children in the household’.

(Stock Image) Research has found that married men have lower testosterone on average than those who remain single

There is evidence from previous research that experiencing stress can reduce the amount of testosterone produced by men.

But this is just one potential explanation as analysis was not designed to establish whether fathers can blame their children for having less testosterone.

It is unclear how much the modest drop in testosterone seen in married men, who still have a normal amount of the hormone, might affect them.

However men with abnormally low testosterone have previously been found to have a lower libido, and struggle more with fatigue.

Dr Bu Yeap from the University of Western Australia, who led the analysis, said: ‘An interesting finding was that married men, or men in a de facto relationship, had slightly lower testosterone levels than single men.

‘A possible explanation could be that married men with families might be more stressed, and therefore have lower testosterone levels, but our study wasn’t designed to look further into this result.’

There has been more of a focus in recent years on the ‘male menopause’ – where men’s testosterone levels fall as they get older.

The new analysis, published in the Annals of Internal Medicine journal, did not find a significant difference in average testosterone concentrations in men aged 17 to 70.

But after men turned 70, their testosterone level tended to decrease on average.

Researchers set out to look at lifestyle factors, like being married or single, which might affect testosterone in addition to age.

They also found men who did no more than 75 minutes of vigorous physical activity a week had lower testosterone than more active men on average.

(Stock Image) Analysts say that the findings could be down to higher stress levels experienced by those with families, but add that the study wasn’t designed to look into this

Testosterone levels were also lower in men of a higher weight, based on body mass index (BMI).

Lower testosterone concentrations have previously been linked to a higher risk of developing diabetes and dementia, and higher odds of dying early.

Testosterone concentrations were also found to be slightly lower in men who were former smokers, compared to men who had never smoked, and in those with high blood pressure and with a history of some health conditions including cardiovascular disease.

The authors say these factors should be taken into account before men are told they have abnormally low testosterone.

Previous evidence has shown men see a decline in their testosterone level when they are expecting a child, and the men whose testosterone plummets most are more invested in their children and get more satisfaction from being a parent.

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