6 Risk Factors for Low-T

Low testosterone, also known as low-T or hypogonadism, affects almost 40 percent of men ages 45 and older and can cause a number of physical and emotional issues. While diagnosis from a doctor is as easy as getting a blood test, determining if you're at risk for low-T isn't as simple. But by knowing certain risk factors, you can brace yourself for potential low-T and make the proper changes to avoid it. Here's a look at six of those risk factors.

1. Certain types of cancer and cancer treatment

If you've been diagnosed with pituitary cancer, you're at a higher risk for low-T. The tumors caused by this type of cancer can affect normal testosterone production levels. Testicular cancer can also lead to less production of testosterone and possibly low-T. Following treatment of these cancers, many men, but not all, experience a return to normalcy in testosterone production.

Some patients with other types of cancer who undergo chemotherapy may also suffer from decreased testosterone production.

2. Injury to the testicles or undescended testicles

Trauma to the testicles is another risk factor for low-T, because an injury can reduce the body's ability to produce testosterone. Undescended testicles can also cause low-T because the testicles don't fully develop. However, this condition is rare: Testicles typically descend within the first year of life, and if not, corrective surgery is often conducted before the age of 5. If you're a man who still has an undescended testicle, surgery hasn't been found to increase the production of testosterone or sperm.

3. Diseases and disorders

Numerous types of diseases have been found to reduce the production of testosterone. HIV and AIDS can cause low-T due to their effects on the testes, pituitary gland and hypothalamus. Mumps infections have also been known to cause problems with testosterone production in men, especially if the disease is contracted in adolescence.

Several types of genetic disorders, including Klinefelter's syndrome, Kallman's syndrome and hemochromatosis, can also put men at higher risk of low-T.

A host of chronic diseases may be linked to low-T, although research hasn't shown whether low-T is the consequence or the cause. Some experts believe the relationship is bi-causal, which means one can lead to the other and vice versa. Liver disease, kidney disease, rheumatoid arthritis and other cardiovascular diseases also fall into this category.

4. Medication

Medications for other illnesses may lead to low-T in some individuals. One of the greatest medicine-based causes for low-T are opioids used for chronic pain, such as Oxycontin, Vicodin and Percocet. Drugs prescribed for dyslipidemia, a condition that causes a buildup of lipids in the blood, have also been shown to cause low-T side effects.

5. Obesity

One study found that 68.5 percent of obese men suffer from low-T because the two are inherently linked and bi-causal: In a vicious cycle, obese men are more likely to suffer from low-T, while low-T sufferers are more likely to be obese.

The physiological reason for the higher incidence of low-T in obese men is that the body's fat cells metabolize testosterone to estrogen. This, in turn, causes the body to produce less testosterone as a result of the increase in estrogen. Obesity can also reduce levels of globulin in the blood, which is a protein that transfers testosterone throughout the blood.

6. Age

The loss of testosterone as men age is a natural phenomenon, so all men are at risk for low-T at some point. Men lose about 1 percent of their testosterone production starting at age 30, with a variance of between 0.5 and 2 percent depending on the individual, according to research. While a healthy diet and exercise have been shown to stave off this lower production of testosterone to some degree, it's an inevitability for the aging man.

Mitigating the effects of low-T

Although low-T is highly correlated to genetics and hereditary conditions, that doesn't mean you can't mitigate its effects through lifestyle changes. With a mix of exercise, weight management programs, abstinence from drugs and alcohol and possibly testosterone replacement therapy, you can keep your testosterone levels up and maintain an exciting, vibrant sex life.