It gives new meaning to the term MENopause..The National Health Service in Britain is set to give a man a paid year off work as he suffers from menopause, the Telegraph reported.."East Midlands Ambulance Service (EMAS) bosses have reportedly been told to make certain allowances for staff experiencing symptoms associated with the drop in testosterone levels – commonly referred to as ‘male menopause' though its technical term is ‘andropause," Metro reported this week.."Managers...have been told they should provide portable fans, extra uniforms, and alter shift patterns to help male staff going through this change.".Earlier this year the British government rejected claims from women who wanted time off from menopause, saying it would be counterproductive and discriminate against men.."The female menopause is a well-defined life event where women’s sex hormones (mainly oestrogen, and progesterone) dramatically decrease, they no longer have menstrual cycles, and they can no longer get pregnant naturally..‘These hormones oscillate throughout a woman’s fertile years and changes in their levels can cause physical and psychological issues, such as premenstrual syndrome and during the perimenopause, can result in many symptoms that can severely affect a woman’s life," Professor Joyce Harper, the head of the Reproductive Science and Society Group at the UCL Institute for Women’s Health," told Metro.."We know that men have a gradual decrease in testosterone with age. This may give some men symptoms such as weight gain and depression, but whether these are the effects of ageing or the change in hormone levels has not been evaluated. These symptoms in women are often blamed on the perimenopause, but also could be due to other factors."."I do not think we can compare the male menopause with the female menopause. It is very well documented that the symptoms of the perimenopause can severely affect wellbeing, but I have not seen any comparable data for men."
