Obstetrics and Gynecology, Department of Clinical and Experimental Medicine, Faculty of Health Sciences, Linköping University, Linköping, Sweden. anna-clara.spetz.holm@liu.se
Symptoms of testosterone deficiency and concentrations of testosterone (T) and bioavailable testosterone (BT) were studied in 35- and 45-year-old men.
A questionnaire, was sent to all 35- and 45-year-old men in Link?ping, Sweden (n=1998). The questionnaire has earlier been used for 55- to 75-year-old men and included demographic data, medical history, different symptoms possibly of T deficiency and the 10 questions from the "ADAM-questionnaire". Totally 200 men randomly selected among the men who answered the questionnaire were asked to give blood samples for analysis of T- and BT-concentrations.
A total of 38.7% of the questionnaires were returned and analysed, and 43.5% of the 200 randomly selected men gave blood samples. The older age group reported more symptoms that may be connected to low B and BT and had lower T- and BT-concentrations. Less strong erections and higher alcohol consumption were associated with lower concentrations of BT in 45-year-old men.
The burden of symptoms possibly related to low T concentrations were higher in 45-year-old men, and BT and T were lower. However, due to the low answer frequency and number of blood samples analyzed no general conclusions can be drawn.