Low Testosterone Level in Men and Quality of Life

  • S. Horie
Reference work entry

Abstract:

The concept of age-related  androgen deficiency in men, also termed  late-onset hypogonadism (LOH), has opened up public awareness about men's health issues. Low testosterone levels can lead to depressed mood, sexual dysfunction, cognitive impairment, osteoporosis, cardiovascular disease, and metabolic syndrome. Low testosterone levels also affect health-related quality of life (QOL), impacting physical, social, emotional, cognitive, and sexual functioning. Use of generic questionnaires such as the Short-Form 36-Item Health Survey likely underestimates the impact of low testosterone levels on QOL. Other QOL scales that assess cognitive impact, sexual functioning, or body appearance need to be considered when assessing men with low testosterone levels. The  Aging Males’ Symptoms scale is the most frequently used scale to measure health-related QOL in aging males. Evidence points toward a high reliability and high validity of this scale to measure and to compare HRQOL of aging males.

Keywords

Luteinizing Hormone Androgen Deprivation Therapy Androgen Deficiency Health Status Questionnaire Kallmann Syndrome 
These keywords were added by machine and not by the authors. This process is experimental and the keywords may be updated as the learning algorithm improves.

List of Abbreviations:

ACTH

adrenocorticotropine hormone

AMS

aging males’ symptoms

DHEA

dehydroepiandrosterone

DHT

dihydrotestosterone

FSH

follicle-stimulating hormone

GnRH

gonadotropin-releasing hormone

HRQOL

health-related quality of life

HSQ

Health Status Questionnaire

LF

luteinizing hormone

LOH

late-onset hypogonadism

QOL

quality of life

SF-12

Short-Form 12-Item Health Survey

SF-36

Short-Form 36-Item Health Survey

SHBG

 sex hormone binding globulin

T

testosterone

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Copyright information

© Springer Science+Business Media LLC 2010

Authors and Affiliations

  • S. Horie
    • 1
  1. 1.Department of UrologyTeikyo University School of MedicineTokyoJapan

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