Self-referred patients in an aging male clinic: much more than androgen deficiency alone

Following an information campaign through the media on the subject of 'andropause', 81 consecutive self-referred patients were evaluated. At presentation these patients had complaints possibly related to partial androgen deficiency in the aging male. Hormonal parameters were measured and s...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:The aging male 2003-09, Vol.6 (3), p.157-165
Main Authors: T'Sjoen, G, Feyen, E, De Kuyper, P, Comhaire, F, Kaufman, J M
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Aged
Aging - pathology
Androgens
Androgens - deficiency
Belgium
Body Mass Index
Climacteric
Erectile Dysfunction - diagnosis
Erectile Dysfunction - psychology
Geriatric Assessment
Geriatrics
Health Services for the Aged - utilization
Humans
Male
Males
Middle Aged
Older people
Radioimmunoassay
Referral and Consultation
Sexual disorders
Surveys and Questionnaires
Testosterone - deficiency
Citations: Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:Following an information campaign through the media on the subject of 'andropause', 81 consecutive self-referred patients were evaluated. At presentation these patients had complaints possibly related to partial androgen deficiency in the aging male. Hormonal parameters were measured and specific aging male questionnaires, such as Androgen Deficiency in Aging Male (ADAM) and Aging Males' Symptoms (AMS) scale questionnaires were completed. The median age was 59 (range 53-66) and mean body mass index (BMI) was 26.4 +/- 3.3 kg/m2. Mean testosterone was 479.8 +/- 149.0 ng/dl and mean free testosterone was 10.0 +/- 3.0 ng/dl. Only 7.1% of all patients were diagnosed with 'idiopathic' ADAM. The majority of patients presented with erectile dysfunction. A wide variety of conditions were diagnosed, including hemochromatosis, micro- and macroprolactinoma, hypothyroidism, benign prostate hypertrophism and prostate carcinoma. The scores of AMS psychological, somatovegetative and sexual subscales were 12, 16 and 13, according to AMS classification corresponding to severe, moderate and severe complaints, respectively. There was no correlation between AMS (total and subscales) and testosterone levels. A positive correlation between the somatovegetative subscale of the AMS and both BMI and insulin was found. In conclusion, we observed that in a group of self-referred men andropause is not a frequent diagnosis, and other pathology needs to be addressed requiring a multi-disciplinary approach.
ISSN:1368-5538
1473-0790
DOI:10.1080/713604786