No. ‘Menopause’ means ‘the end of periods’: so, as you never had periods in the first place, you can’t be going through a menopause.

Which is why the men’s health gurus have dreamt up a new term, ‘andropause’, to replace the phrase ‘male menopause’.

The andropause relates to an age related drop in the male hormone, testosterone. There’s no doubt that this happens. But the question is, does this have any significant adverse effect? Currently, the jury’s out: it’s an area full of if, buts, maybes and a good deal of controversy.

The problems start as soon as you try to measure testosterone. Because it’s not just the overall level that matters, it’s the amount that’s ‘free’ – in other words, not bound up with ‘carrier protein’. Not all labs measure this, so the result may be misleading.

Then there’s the fact that testosterone levels correlate only loosely with symptoms. For example, many older men have lowish readings and yet fire on all cylinders. Whereas a younger bloke might have a normal level but suffer ‘menopausal’ symptoms like loss of sex drive or erectile problems.

Chuck in the fact that the ‘male menopause’ coincides with what is often a difficult phase in a man’s life: a time when you’re facing competition at work from younger colleagues, coping with elderly relatives, maybe suffering relationship strains, facing diminishing expectations and loss of ambition, and so on. No wonder you feel down and tired, and suffer sexual problems, regardless of any testosterone deficiency.

All of which makes it very difficult to know whether testosterone supplements are worthwhile. Doctors range in attitude from those who champion the treatment to those who think it’s a scam.

The majority of us certainly don’t see it as a panacea and want a good deal more research before we’re willing to prescribe it for all but exceptional cases.