Men 'not interested in sex'

Changing sexual roles for men and women and increasing rates of depression among men could be some of the reasons behind the change, he added.

Professor Michael King, of the Royal Free and University College Medical School in London, has completed a study into mental illness across six countries which found that the rate of major depression and panic syndrome was highest among men in the UK.

“Men are most likely to suffer depression between the ages of 30 and 50,” he said.

“One of the explanations is that men are less able to talk about their problems than women or express their emotions.”