What are the early warning indicators of male hormone health risks?

We usually talk about the health risks of male hormones. The core early warning signals are the core blood test indicators of free testosterone index, sex hormone binding globulin, and luteinizing hormone. Then, by adding the specific symptoms in the body, we can basically determine the accuracy.

When I usually work with clients at the health management center, I recently met a 32-year-old programmer from a major Internet company. He complained that he was tired for more than half a year and had no energy for sex. At first, he blamed it all on 996. A venous blood test showed that the total testosterone was still stuck in the middle of the normal reference value, but the free testosterone had dropped to the edge of the lower limit of the reference value. The sex hormone binding globulin was nearly 20% higher than the normal value. The doctor reminded him at that time that it was an early warning of hormonal hypothyroidism. At present, the judgment of the academic community on this situation is not completely unified. Some general practitioners believe that total testosterone is not abnormal if it is within the normal range, and no special intervention is needed. However, most clinicians in the Department of Reproductive Medicine and Endocrinology believe that free testosterone is the active androgen that can be directly utilized by body organs. Total testosterone is normal but the free value is low, which indicates that there is a problem with the metabolic utilization pathway of androgens. Without intervention, it will easily fall into the pathological range quickly.

After all, you have to go to the hospital to get blood test indicators before you know them. In fact, your body will send out early warning signals long ago. Don’t wait until you get an abnormality report to react. For example, the sex drive has been significantly reduced for more than 3 months in a row, the frequency of morning erections is less than half of the previous one, you have not stopped exercising or dieting, the muscle mass in your arms and back has dropped visibly, and your waistline has increased by two or three inches. There is nothing bad at ordinary times, but you just can't get excited, you become irritable at every turn, your sleep becomes lighter, and you wake up at the slightest movement. These are not "normal symptoms of aging", but are signals sent to you by hormonal disorders. I once met a 40-year-old middle-level man in the manufacturing industry. He always suffered from insomnia and irritability at first. He thought it was because of the high pressure of the project. He took more than a year to check it. He found that the luteinizing hormone was twice as high as the reference value. The secretion function of the testicles itself had been irreversibly damaged. If he had followed the symptoms and checked the hormone six months earlier, he would not have needed long-term exogenous hormone supplementation.

There is still a point that many people are discussing, which is whether to include prostate-specific antigen (PSA) in the routine hormonal risk warning indicators. Those who support it believe that androgen metabolism disorder is one of the core causes of prostate hyperplasia, inflammation and even pathological changes. If PSA is abnormal, checking hormone levels simultaneously can detect problems earlier.； The opposing side believes that PSA itself is an exclusive screening indicator for prostate lesions and has no direct strong correlation with abnormal hormonal secretion. Ordinary people do not need to specifically combine the examination with physical examinations, and it is completely late to add additional tests if relevant symptoms occur.

To be honest, many men nowadays are too careless about their hormonal status. If there is a problem, they either think they are tired and need to rest for two days, or they just buy some kidney-tonifying health care products and supplement them randomly, which disrupts their own endocrine rhythm. It is better to spend an extra 180 yuan to add a hormone sub-item during the annual physical examination. Pay more attention to your physical condition. If there is a problem, adjust it early, which is more effective than any supplement.