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Are andropause symptoms related to depression?

Aging Clinical and Experimental Research volume 27, pages 813–820 (2015)Cite this article

Abstract

Background

Andropause is a middle-age condition in which men experience changes in their physical, spiritual and emotional health. The association between andropause and psychological symptoms such as depression are not very clear yet.

Aims

The objective of this study was therefore to determine the association between the ‘Aging Males Symptoms Scale’ (AMS) and depression.

Methods

A cross sectional study was conducted among 521 old men. To collect data, the AMS and the Patient Health Questionnaires 2 and 9 were used to screen depression, in addition to questions on background and fertility. Multiple linear regression analysis was used to assess the association between andropause symptoms and depression.

Results

Based on our results and the AMS score, 51.5 % of the study population had clinical symptoms of androgen disorder, 3.7 % of which had severe symptoms. There was a strong correlation between the AMS score and depression. Depression, diabetes, cigarette smoking and spousal age retained their significant associations even after entering the relevant demographic, anthropometric, smoking and disease variables in the multivariable model. As a positive predictive factor, depression had the strongest association with AMS.

Conclusions

Based on our results, there is a direct association between andropause symptoms and depression, where the increasing AMS score corresponds with the severity of depression.

Discussion

Our results show the need of screening for depression when evaluating andropause symptoms.

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Acknowledgments

This article is part of a PhD thesis supported by Tehran University of Medical Sciences. The latter university’s ‘Department of Community Medicine’ and ‘Faculty of Medicine and Midwifery’ of ‘Tehran School of Nursing and Midwifery’ provided the practical support for this project. We would like to extend our gratitude to the research team members, our colleagues at the Blood Transfusion Organization, and the men who participated in the study.

Conflict of interest

The authors declare that they have no conflict of interests.

Human and Animal Rights

The Ethical Committee Board of Tehran University of Medical Sciences approved the project under code no 14786.

Informed consent

Participation in this study was on a voluntary basis and the participants were assured that their information would remain confidential and that the results would be reported generally. Moreover, they were granted a token of appreciation for participating in the study.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Community Medicine, Faculty Member of Medicine, Tehran School of Nursing and Midwifery, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Poorsina Avenue, Ghods Avenue, Enghelab St., Tehran, Iran

    Shahla Khosravi

  2. Department of Health Promotion and Education, School of Public Health, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran

    Hasan Eftekhar Ardebili

  3. Department of Endocrinology and Metabolism, Endocrinology and Metabolism Research Center, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran

    Bagher Larijani

  4. Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, School of Public Health, Knowledge Utilization Research Center, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran

    Saharnaz Nedjat

  5. Department of Medical-Surgical Nursing, Tehran School of Nursing and Midwifery, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran

    Alireza Nikbakht Nasrabadi

  6. Mental Health Research Center, Iran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran

    Mehrdad Eftekhar Ardebili

  7. Department of Community Medicine, Faculty Member of Medicine, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran

    Soheila Dabiran

  8. Department of Pathology, Aja University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran

    Esmaeil Samizadeh

Authors
  1. Shahla Khosravi
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  2. Hasan Eftekhar Ardebili
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  6. Mehrdad Eftekhar Ardebili
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  7. Soheila Dabiran
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  8. Esmaeil Samizadeh
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Shahla Khosravi.

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Khosravi, S., Ardebili, H.E., Larijani, B. et al. Are andropause symptoms related to depression?. Aging Clin Exp Res 27, 813–820 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40520-015-0341-4

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s40520-015-0341-4

Keywords

  • Andropause
  • Men’s health
  • Depression
  • Aging