Everyone whose parents or grandparents are still living hears comparisons between the hardships of today’s generation versus those of our ancestors. Listening to the tales of old men, we’re led to believe that schools were strategically placed so students couldn’t approach or depart without having to walk uphill for miles; work hours were much longer, necessitating that employees engage in nonstop labor for days without lunch breaks and sleep; and real men chopped wood or broke stones so efficiently that they made Paul Bunyan and Casey Jones look like sissies.

    It’s easy to laugh after these discussions, confident in the knowledge that we have advantages over our old folks in the form of superior nutrition, advanced training facilities and rapid-fire information from the World Wide Web. Surely that old saying, “when men were men” is wishful thinking on behalf of the legions of toothless and tattooed veterans who are less impressed with a 400-pound bench press than a denture adhesive that will suspend a bowling ball in the air.

The Male Experience
    Yet, the question lingers in the subconscious like an Oedipal challenge— are we less manly than our fathers or grandfathers? Casting aside cultural and societal differences, the most basic, biological comparison of “manliness” might logically be rooted in testosterone. That familiar steroid is the male sex hormone, held responsible for wars, mating, strength and facial hair— all primary ingredients in the male experience. So, it might be reasonable to rank the generations according to measured testosterone concentrations. This objective measure would end, once and for all, the mocking comparisons between walking three miles in a blizzard and the grueling commutes that can last well over an hour in some cities.

    Fortunately, such a study has been published and with all the anticipation of the Academy Awards, it’s time to open the envelope and see what generation can boast about having the biggest brass balls.

    In the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism, an excellent paper has been e-published ahead of print, written by members of the New England Research Institute.1 Lead author Thomas Travison, PhD, and others have analyzed data available from the Massachusetts Male Aging Study to evaluate changes in serum (blood) testosterone concentrations over time. This study looked at men aged 45-79 during three different time periods (T1: 1987-1989; T2: 1995-1997; and T3: 2002-2004) and compared serum testosterone concentrations. Both total and bioavailable (free) testosterone data were analyzed, and the results were compared across groups (by birth year) and by person over time. This allowed the investigators to look at the differences in testosterone concentration among the various groups at the same time (called a cross-sectional analysis) and differences in an individual’s testosterone concentration over the three time points (called a longitudinal analysis). In addition, most interestingly for the generational comparison, the testosterone concentrations for individuals of the same age at the three time points were compared, so a 65-year-old at T1 could be compared to a 65-year-old at T2 (called an age-matched analysis).

    Three sets of results were obtained for both total testosterone and bioavailable testosterone— cross-sectional, longitudinal and age-matched. The general pattern was the same for both total testosterone and bioavailable testosterone, so for the sake of clarity, this discussion will just refer to total testosterone results.