Heart disease can by caused by a number of fairly controllable factors. Eating a diet high in fat and cholesterol, smoking, and having high blood sugar are big risk factors that a person can avoid to an extent. High blood pressure due to poor diet or high levels of stress is also a somewhat controllable cause of heart disease in both men and women.

Unfortunately, there are also several factors that a person cannot control whatsoever. For example, family history can play a large role in heart disease risk. When a link between height and heart disease was suggested all the way back in 1951 by a now-famous cardiologist named Paul Dudley White, the idea wasn’t taken very seriously for decades. Now, however, it turns out that a gene associated with short stature may also be related to a higher heart disease risk.

Nearly 200,000 People Studied

It’s long been thought that the link between height and heart disease could be explained by poor diet, poverty or infectious diseases during childhood – factors that could cause both shorter stature and heart weakness. However, the new study, published this week in the New England Journal of Medicine, challenges those theories. Researchers studied 180 genetic variants in just under 200,000 people. Some test subjects had heart disease while others did not. Overall, it was discovered that a person’s risk of developing clogged arteries is 13.5 percent higher for every 2.5 inches shorter they are. This means that a person who is 5 feet 6 inches tall has a 30 percent lower chance of getting heart disease than somebody who is only 5 feet tall.

It was found that genetic variants causing shorter stature have been linked to higher levels of LDL and triglycerides, both of which can contribute to heart problems. This is strong evidence that there is in fact a genetic link between height and heart disease, rather than just an environmental link as was previously thought. It should be noted, however, that this genetic link was found predominantly in men. The connection was not deemed significant in the women who were studied.

Heart Disease Remains Number One Killer

Heart disease is still the number one killer of Americans, having claimed 787,000 people in 2011 alone. Cardiovascular diseases also cause more deaths than all forms of cancer combined. Also, around 720,000 Americans suffer from a heart attack every year – this means that a heart attack occurs in the United States once every 34 seconds. Not to mention, heart disease has led to over $320.1 billion in health costs and missed productivity.

Height And Heart Disease: The Bottom Line

With heart disease still being the most prevalent and deadliest condition in the U.S., this study should not be taken too lightly. While the genetic link may not be the most revelatory scientific find in recent memory, it nonetheless demonstrates the importance of understanding risk factors. If you or someone you love is at risk of developing heart disease and is of shorter stature, it may be even more important for them to consume a healthy diet low in cholesterol and sugar, as well as get a decent amount of exercise. These steps could be especially important if they’re male.

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To many Americans, a sauna is a hot room at a hotel, gym or spa that provides some moments of relaxation after a workout or swimming session. If these types of saunas are modeled after traditional saunas, they typically involve a stove that heats rocks to high temperatures and provides long-lasting heat. However, sauna patrons in hotels and spas are often not permitted to pour water onto the rocks to increase the temperature. Despite the considerable differences, many Americans might also confuse saunas with steam rooms.

In Finland, however, saunas are a much more integral part of the culture. Finnish people may take multiple saunas per week at temperatures much hotter than a typical spa or hotel would allow. In fact, most people have saunas right in their homes. According to a new study, all these saunas may be helping Finns live longer.

Significant Reduction in Mortality Risk

The new study appears in a recent issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association. Researchers from universities in Finland, Rome and Atlanta collaborated to assess the health of 2,315 men in Finland. The men had been having their health tracked since 1984 and were aged 42 to 60 when tracking began. According to the research, the men spent an average of 14 minutes in a sauna twice per week. The average sauna temperature was 174 degrees Fahrenheit.

It was found that men who spent more than the average time in saunas had a much lower risk of death due to a heart condition. During the 19-year course of the study, 407 men died from cardiovascular disease, 281 from heart disease, and 190 from sudden cardiac arrest. It was found that men who took two to three saunas per week had a 23 percent lower risk of succumbing to heart disease when compared to those who only took one sauna per week. Men who bathed in a sauna four to seven times per week had a 48 percent lower risk of death due to similar heart issues. Also, only one to two percent of sudden deaths occurred within 24 hours of being in a sauna.

What Causes the Benefits?

Researchers have not been able to determine exactly how saunas prevent heart problems. One theory is that high temperatures found in saunas can cause heart rates to climb to well over 100 beats per minute, which mirrors low-intensity exercise. The heart benefits could also be due to the fact that saunas are typically relaxing. Less stress can mean a healthier heart. At the same time, having more time for sauna bathing could also mean that a person has more leisure time in general, meaning that a frequent sauna-goer might be less stressed in the first place.

Saunas and Heart Health: The Bottom Line

The study is limited in a couple ways: it was only conducted in Finland and does not include women. However, several areas of the U.S., such as the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, may be seeing similar benefits because they’re densely populated with people that have Finnish heritage. Many of these people frequently use traditional Finnish saunas. However, any aging man – sauna-goer or not – should still rely on the basics of heart health as they age: get some exercise, don’t smoke, and eat healthy.

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Belly fat is probably the number one physical health issue that gets people to start exercising. Getting rid of belly fat is usually attempted for cosmetic reasons, but it can also greatly reduce the risk of serious conditions such as heart disease, diabetes, asthma, hypertension and stroke. Unfortunately, over half the U.S. population now has abdominal obesity, meaning that one out of every two people need to start watching their waistline if they’re going to avoid the negative health risks. Typically, aerobic exercise is considered the most essential element of cutting belly fat, along with a diet plan and strategies for coping with stress. “Spot reducing” fat doesn’t really work, meaning that you can’t simply do crunches and expect to lose abdominal weight. Now, however, a new study shows that weight training could be just as effective – if not more – than aerobic exercise, specifically for men.

Weight Training Combated the Effects of Aging

The study, published in the journal Obesity, analyzed a whopping 10,500 American males aged 40 and older. Research was conducted using Health Professionals Follow-Up Study data collected between 1996 and 2008. During that period, men were asked about the physical activities they devoted time toward. While the men were considered generally healthy, an expanding waistline is often considered a normal part of the aging process. Unsurprisingly, men who reported increasing the amount of time spent being sedentary experienced an increase in their waistlines. However, men who increased stair climbing and yard work time gained 0.16 cm less. Men who increased aerobic exercise, thought to be best for losing belly fat, gained 0.33 cm less in their midsection. Also, men who increased their time spent weight training had smaller waistlines at an average of 0.67 cm, meaning that weight training was over twice as effective as aerobic exercise.

Researchers at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health stated that waist circumference is superior to overall body weight as a measure of health while aging. This is due to the fact that skeletal muscle is often lost as a person gets older, meaning that weight loss can happen without being accompanied by any actual health improvements.

Not The First Study of Its Kind

As men get older, lifting weights may seem out of the question. However, getting into the habit earlier could prevent several health problems while keeping the body fit and functioning into old age. The new research from Harvard is surprising in that it suggests weight training could be more effective than aerobic activity. However, other studies have shown that lifting weights can also help prevent type 2 diabetes in men. There’s no doubt that a smaller waistline goes hand-in-hand with this diabetes prevention.

Weight Training And Belly Fat: The Bottom Line

While this study shows how important lifting weights can be, it shouldn’t be considered a substitute for aerobic exercise. In fact, the men who saw the most benefit were the ones who combined both weight training and aerobics. The men in this study also lifted weights for about 20 minutes each day, so if you really want to prevent the expanding waistline that comes with getting older, 20 minutes of exercise daily would be a good place to start.

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Several studies have shown how a parent influences infant vocabulary. For example, this landmark 1995 study showed that 86 to 98 percent of the words children use by the age of three came from their parent’s vocabulary. Also, infant vocabulary was found to be very similar to caregiver vocabulary in terms of average number of words used, speech patterns and duration of conversation. This may seem like common sense, but it has serious implications when considering what the study also found: the vocabulary knowledge at age three was a predicting factor in language performance at ages nine and ten. In other words, a child’s vocabulary at age three is a good indicator of their language development, vocabulary and reading comprehension many years in the future. Now, a new study is claiming that dads may need to pick up some slack in this department.

Fathers Respond Far Less To Baby Vocalization

The new study, published in Pediatrics, aimed to evaluate how mothers and fathers differ in verbally interacting with their young children. Researchers assembled a group of 33 babies and their parents. They attached small recording devices to the babies on a vest for four 16-hour periods. The recording periods occurred at different intervals, including when the babies were just born, when they were still in the hospital, at 44 weeks old, and finally at seven months.

After recording around 3,000 hours of footage, it was found that mothers were much more likely to respond to verbal sounds. In fact, mothers responded to baby vocalizations at a rate of about 88 to 94 percent. However, fathers only responded 27 to 33 percent of the time. This isn’t necessarily surprising, as mothers are still likely to take on more responsibility when it comes to childcare. But again, the results are pretty dismal when considering that language interaction from both parents is needed in order for infants to grow into successful young adults.

Gender Plays a Role As Well

Possibly due to the fact that mothers were more likely to vocalize overall, researchers also discovered that babies were more likely to vocally respond to their mother’s voice than to their father’s. Surprisingly, though, mothers were more likely to vocalize with their female babies throughout the study. This may be due to the fact that girls tend to respond earlier to vocal cues than boys do. It may also help to explain why female babies often begin talking earlier, develop larger vocabularies, read earlier and spell better than boys do on average. Similarly, fathers responded marginally more often to male babies than to female babies.

Infant Vocabulary: The Bottom Line

Actual interaction is essential for developing infant vocabulary and for a child to have success later in life. Simply putting on the TV will not help a child learn to communicate, as it provides none of the give-and-take or social cues of typical human conversation. According to this study, both parents – fathers especially – should try to increase responses and vocal interactions with their young children regardless of the child’s gender.

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Are you a man over the age of 45? Are you going bald? If so, a prostate exam should be one of your top health priorities according to a new study published in the Journal of Clinical Oncology. The study suggests a significant link between male pattern baldness and prostate cancer, which is the most common form of cancer that American men are diagnosed with apart from skin cancer. In fact, prostate cancer is so prevalent that one in seven men will get it. Out of those, one in 36 will die because of it. As far as cancer deaths go, prostate cancer is second only to lung cancer regarding the amount of men it claims. At the same time, however, prostate cancer does have a generally high survival rate. If male pattern baldness and prostate cancer truly go hand in hand, it might at the very least give some men a warning sign that can lead to early treatment.

Scope of Study Was Vast

Researchers from the Cancer Prevention Institute of California studied 39,070 U.S. men who enrolled between the years of 1993 and 2001. Participants were aged 55 to 74, and they initially answered questions regarding the amount and type of hair loss they started to see at age 45. Around 18 percent of participants stated they had male pattern baldness at that age.

The researchers then followed up with the men between 2006 and 2008. It was found that 1,138 of them had ended up being diagnosed with prostate cancer, and 600 of those cases could be described as “aggressive.” Those who described having male pattern baldness at age 45 were found to be 39 percent more likely to develop aggressive prostate cancer. It’s important to note that male pattern baldness is a specific type of baldness in which the hair thins on the crown of the head while the front hairline recedes simultaneously. There was no link found between other types of baldness and prostate cancer. Also, male pattern baldness was only linked to “aggressive” prostate cancer as opposed to other forms of the condition.

Association May Not Be Cause For Alarm

While one of the study’s co-authors claimed that baldness might eventually help doctors estimate prostate cancer risk, the research doesn’t necessarily mean we’re at that point just yet. The study certainly does not prove causation. Instead, it further solidifies the hypothesis that male sex hormones, specifically testosterone and dihydrotestosterone, can be linked to both male pattern baldness and prostate cancer development. In fact, some hair loss medications such as Propecia aim to restore hair growth by blocking such hormones’ effect on the skin. Also, genetics may play a role in the link. According to the senior study author, Michael Cook, there are “some overlapping regions of the genome that may be implicated in both of these conditions.” Not to mention, the study is a bit flawed in that it had test subjects relying on memory to assess their level of baldness years earlier.

Baldness and Prostate Cancer: The Bottom Line

Even the study authors suggest that more research must be done before we completely understand the link between baldness and prostate cancer. With almost 70 percent of men experiencing male pattern baldness during their lives, this study shouldn’t be cause for panic. At the same time, it could never hurt to talk to your doctor if there’s any concern.

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The death of legendary comedian Robin Williams last week has once again shone a light on difficult and complicated topics: depression and suicide. According to the Anxiety and Depression Association of America, 14.8 million Americans over the age of 18 are affected by major depressive disorder. This comes out to about 6.7 percent of the adult population. The number of people in the U.S. that suffer from any anxiety disorder totals a whopping 40 million adults. Depression is also a major risk factor for suicide, which claimed 39,518 lives in 2011. This makes it the 10th most common cause of death in the U.S. Also, it’s estimated that Americans spend $42 billion per year on anxiety and depression treatment. But is it working? New research published in the Journal of the American Medical Association shows that antidepressants alone may not be effective enough.

Depression Treatment Should Include Both Medication and Therapy

To conduct their study, researchers examined 452 adults that suffer from depression. The participants were randomly arranged into groups that were treated using either a combination of antidepressants and cognitive therapy or antidepressants alone. Researchers then took note of how long it took patients to recover. In depression treatment, a “recovery” is achieved when a patient goes six months without any symptoms of depression. It was found that people who had both antidepressants and therapy did better. According to one researcher from Vanderbilt University, it’s thought that the two methods work together well because they affect different parts of the nervous system: cognitive therapy works within the frontal cortex of the brain while antidepressants affect areas near the brain stem that generate emotions.

It should be noted, however, that the patients who saw improvement typically had severe but non-chronic depression. Patients with less severe or chronic depression symptoms did not benefit much from the combined treatment strategy. Nevertheless, many are seeing this study as further proof that depression treatment must go beyond simply treating the symptoms. One psychiatry professor from the University of Pennsylvania is calling for more research to be done on methods such as mindfulness, dialectical behavior therapy and interpersonal psychotherapy in order to help patients who do not show improvement after typical treatment methods are used.

Suicide Rates Climbing Among Men, Baby Boomers

The incredibly saddening death of Robin Williams actually reflects a disturbing trend among the beloved actor’s age group: an increase in suicide. In the year 2000, 10.4 out of every 100,000 people committed suicide. In 2011, that number rose to 12.3, making suicides more common than car accident deaths. Specifically, suicides in people aged 45 to 59 have jumped sharply in the last decade – changing the popular notion that suicide is most likely to occur during young adulthood or old age.

More women suffer from depression than men, and women more commonly have suicidal thoughts. At the same time, men are much more likely to actually complete the act of suicide. In fact, men commit suicide nearly four times as often. According to a sociology professor from Rutgers, middle aged men are now taking their own lives more often than the elderly – a phenomenon that has not occured in at least the last century. She went on to say that men of the baby boomer generation are now 60 percent more likely to commit suicide than their father’s generation was when that group reached middle age.

Depression Treatment: The Bottom Line

So what can be done? Well, the first step is to recognize the symptoms of depression. Seek help immediately if you or someone you know starts showing symptoms such as:

• Significant changes in weight or appetite
• Significant change in sleep patterns
• Loss of energy
• Self-loathing
• Feeling hopeless or helpless
• Trouble concentrating
• Loss of interest in previously enjoyed activities

It should be noted that men may present different symptoms. Bouts of aggression, irritability, substance abuse and reckless behavior can be just as telling as sadness, crying and traditional symptoms. Also, it’s important to recognize the suicide warning signs. Again, the most recent research suggests that a combination of antidepressants and therapy could be the most effective depression treatment, regardless of gender.

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Americans have heard time and again that eating right and getting exercise will help prevent or reverse obesity. While some argue that obesity statistics have begun to plateau in America, the condition can still be considered an epidemic. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, over one third of adults in the U.S. can be considered obese. Also, Americans spent around $147 billion on obesity-related medical care in 2008. The condition, which is considered to be completely preventable, increases the risk of diabetes, stroke, heart disease and even some types of cancer.

But what is more important – eating a healthy diet or engaging in physical activity? According to a new study published in the American Journal of Medicine, lack of exercise is the main reason we’re getting fat.

No Change in Overall Caloric Intake

Perhaps the most surprising aspect of the study, conducted by researchers at Stanford University’s School of Medicine, is the finding that Americans’ overall caloric intake actually didn’t change much from 1988 to 2010. This conclusion challenges the common assumption that obesity in the U.S. is mostly due to people simply eating more food.

During the same time period, however, researchers found that the number of people living a sedentary lifestyle increased dramatically. The percentage of men in the U.S. that reported to participate in zero physical activity during their free time went from around 11 percent to 43 percent from 1988 to 2010. Even worse, women saw an increase from 19 percent to 52 percent.

Trend Has Hit Women Hardest

Researchers also found that body mass index increased by around 0.37 percent each year for both women and men. However, the age group that saw the most dramatic rises were women aged 18 to 39. When abdominal obesity was addressed, it was found that men’s average waistlines increased by 0.27 percent each year while women averaged an increase of 0.37 percent annually. A waist circumference of 40.16 inches or larger is considered obese for men, while the cutoff point for women is 34.65 inches.

Also, despite caloric intake staying the same in general, it was found that women who reported to engage in no physical activity did see an increase in calories consumed over the years studied.

Sedentary Lifestyle: The Bottom Line

The study seems to suggest that getting regular physical activity – not necessarily eating less – is the number one factor in preventing or counteracting obesity. However, researchers maintain that the relationship between a sedentary lifestyle and obesity is correlative, not causative. In other words, researchers did not find that a lack of physical activity caused the obesity trend, although common sense would deem it an important factor.

Additionally, as has already been pointed out by some skeptics, the study is perhaps presuming that the current average for caloric intake is acceptable. Instead, it could be argued that calories consumed must be cut in order to correspond with our increasingly sedentary lifestyles. So, while the study does reinforce the need for physical activity among the U.S. population, it certainly doesn’t mean that we can start eating whatever we want so long as we get some exercise.

The full study is available here.

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A healthy sex life is a key element of many relationships. When one person starts experiencing a decreased libido or inability to function sexually, it can cause stress and anxiety for both partners. When both people in a relationship feel that their needs are being met, it can bring a peace of mind that helps contribute to one’s overall well-being.

Some male sexual problems may be due to deficient levels of prolactin, a hormone commonly known for stimulating milk production and breast growth in women, according to a recent study. The findings of the study surprised researchers because until now, scientists have believed that high levels of prolactin actually impair sexual functioning in males. Until recently, increasing prolactin levels has been a concern almost exclusively for women who are breastfeeding.

A Strange Connection

About 3,000 men ranging in age from 40 to 79 were included in the European study. During the study, researchers measured the subjects’ prolactin, testosterone, blood sugar and blood cholesterol levels, as well as their body mass indexes (a comparison of weight to height used to determine whether a person is at a healthy body weight). The subjects also responded to surveys to reveal information about their perceived sexual functioning, their habits relevant to alcohol and tobacco, and their overall health.

After analyzing all the collected data, the researchers determined that reduced levels of prolactin were often linked to poor sexual and psychological health. The men with below-average (but still normal) levels of prolactin reported decreasing sexual functioning and reduced orgasm enjoyment in comparison to men with above-average levels of prolactin, and they reported depression symptoms more commonly as well.

What’s more, the men with low prolactin levels typically reported lower levels of general health, less physical activity, higher blood sugar levels and wider waistlines.

About Prolactin

As mentioned, prolactin is primarily thought of as a female hormone responsible for allowing new mothers to produce breast milk. Women who are pregnant or breast feeding have 10 to 20-times more prolactin than women who are not. Although non-pregnant women and men all produce at least some prolactin, scientists aren’t sure how the hormone functions in those who aren’t pregnant.

Previous studies have found that men with high prolactin levels are more likely to experience erectile dysfunction and reduced libido. In fact, men suffering from these symptoms are often tested to determine whether their prolactin levels are too high. However, the results of the new study conflict dramatically with the findings of these older studies, suggesting that higher prolactin levels may actually be beneficial to male sexual functioning.

The new study isn’t the first to suggest this notion, either. A pair of older studies on rats found that boosting prolactin levels with drugs also increased sexual functioning. Another study, this one involving brain image scans of men who viewed erotic pictures, indicated that men with higher prolactin levels had more brain activity in brain regions associated with sexual arousal.

At the same time, it’s important to note that this most recent study found a link of association, but not necessarily one of causation. In other words, higher levels of prolactin may not directly result in better sexual functioning. Moreover, the researchers can’t confirm why a link exists between prolactin levels and sexual health at all. One possibility is that low prolactin levels and poor sexual functioning are both due to poor overall health, and not that one is causing the other.

The Bottom Line

Low levels of prolactin, a hormone typically associated with pregnancy and lactation, may be linked to sexual problems in men, according to a recent study.

The full text of the study is available online in the Journal of Sexual Medicine.

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Young people who exercise end up with strong muscles and bones, decreased likelihood of obesity, lower blood pressure, reduced possibility of getting type 2 diabetes, and better sleep.

Adding to these benefits, a new Swedish study found that engaging in regular, vigorous exercise as a young person, may reduce your chance of developing epilepsy when you get older. Over 1.17 million Swedish men, all of whom completed cardiovascular fitness tests upon enlisting for the military at 18 years of age, were included in the study.

The age of the men varied greatly, as they were born between the years of 1950 and 1987. Just under 6,800 men received an epilepsy diagnosis over the course of the 40-year study, according to researchers.

Major Benefits for the Fittest Individuals

Differences in epilepsy risk were extremely pronounced depending on the fitness levels of the men included in the study. As compared to the least-fit men, the men with the highest fitness levels were found to be about 80% less at risk for epilepsy. The fittest men were also about 35% less at risk for epilepsy than those with moderate fitness levels.

According to University of Gothenburg epilepsy and neurology professor Dr. Elinor Ben-Menachem, one of the lead researchers behind the study, described the findings as more evidence of the strong links between physical fitness and mental cognition. She said that 18-year-olds with high levels of physical fitness have been training their bodies at the same time that their brains are developing, a period that can largely determine brain health for many years to come.

All About Epilepsy

The term “epilepsy” actually refers to a group of conditions, all of which involve repeated and often unpredictable seizures. About 2.3 million adults, as well as 470,000 children, suffer from epilepsy according to statistics from the CDC, or Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. About 150,000 individuals in the U.S. are diagnosed with a form of epilepsy each year.

Some of the risk factors for epilepsy are preventable, while others are not. Children who are properly vaccinated early in life are less likely to develop epilepsy, as are children born to mothers who exercised proper prenatal care.

Traumatic physical injuries to the brain can also lead to epilepsy, so those who engage in rough physical sports and who’ve been involved in falls and car accidents may be at higher risk as well. However, epilepsy often doesn’t present itself right away. An individual who falls off a swing and hits her head as a young child may develop epilepsy much later in life as an adult, according to Dr. Ben-Menachemsaid.

Although the researchers behind the study aren’t sure of the reason behind the link, they said the findings suggest that exercise early in life may prevent these types of brain injuries from leading to epilepsy later in life.

More About the Study

In order to test the physical fitness of the men upon their enlistment in the military, the men were asked to ride stationary bicycles as long as they could, with resistance gradually increasing throughout the exercise. Even the men with the lowest physical fitness scores, which ranged from 1 to 9, were still declared sufficiently healthy for enlistment.

Approximately 0.48% of men with the highest fitness levels developed epilepsy later in life, while the same was true of approximately 0.62% of men with medium fitness levels and 1.09% of men with the lowest fitness levels. The results held even when the researchers accounted for factors like genetics, strokes, diabetes and previous brain injuries.

The researchers also pointed to previous studies that found mental benefits from physical exercise. These studies have shown that engaging in regular physical activity can improve memory and neuron generation, and prevent the onset of mental conditions such as Parkinson’s disease and depression.

The Bottom Line

Getting plenty of exercise early in life and staying in good physical shape will greatly reduce your risk of developing epilepsy and other brain disorders later in life, according to a new Swedish study.

The full text of the study can be found online in the medical journal Neurology.

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A recent Chinese study indicates that frequent exposure to bisphenol A, better known as BPA, may reduce a man’s testosterone level. The study focused on men who worked in a chemical plant and were exposed to BPA over the course of no less than six months. These men were found to have lower testosterone levels on average than their peers who worked in a factory that processes and bottles tap water.

Perhaps more importantly, the workers in the chemical plant were found to have lower levels of “free testosterone,” which is not bound to protein. This type of testosterone is most crucial to maintaining bodily functions, such as sexual functioning, related to testosterone levels. BPA is a chemical that is widely used in many food storage containers, especially plastic water bottles and canned foods.

The Link Between BPA and Sexual Hormones

According to research scientist Dr. De-Kun Li of Kaiser Permanente, one of the lead researchers behind the new study, the results add to a growing body of evidence indicating a link between BPA exposure and sexual hormone levels in men. A previous study involving factory workers in China indicated that frequent BPA exposure could lower a man’s sperm count while increasing his risk of sexual dysfunction.

Remarkably, BPA shares a similar chemical makeup with estrogen, often regarded as the female equivalent of male testosterone. Low levels of testosterone are found in women, just as low levels of estrogen are found in men. The researchers believe that the effects of BPA exposure on men are more obvious because their baseline estrogen levels are so low.

Should You Be Worried?

It’s important to remember that the study was conducted using subjects who worked full-time at a chemical plant, where the risk of BPA exposure was high and frequent. For those in the general population, exposure to BPA is less frequent. Still, BPA is found in many places to which the average person is regularly exposed, including the containers of most canned foods, some plastic food containers, and increasingly infrequently in certain plastic beverage containers. For this reason, pregnant women are often advised to limit their intake of canned food.

The vast majority of men would have undetectably low levels of BPA in their blood. However, 70% of those who worked in the chemical factory had measurable amounts of BPA in their bloodstream, while just 5% of male workers at the bottled water facility had the same.

Heather Patisaul, a BPA researcher at North Carolina State University, said that men shouldn’t worry about the study’s findings too much unless they work in a chemical factory. She also noted that the Chinese study was relatively small, and could include inaccuracies due to the samples being collected at non-specific times of the day. Testosterone levels rise and fall naturally during the day, which could have influenced the data.

The Bottom Line

A recent study indicates that frequent, prolonged exposure to BPA could reduce testosterone levels in men. However, the study was small, and it’s still difficult to say whether the average male is exposed to enough BPA to make a difference in his hormone levels.

The full text of the study can be found online in the medical journal Fertility and Sterility.

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