Impaired quality of life and sexual function in overweight and obese men: the European Male Ageing Study

Background: Few published data link overweight and obesity with measures of quality of life (QoL) including sexual health in men. Objective: To assess the association of overweight/obesity with impairment of physical and psychological QoL and sexual functions in men. Design and setting: Cross-sectional, multicentre survey of 3369 community-dwelling men aged 40-79 (mean +/- S.D., 60 +/- 11) years randomly selected from eight European centres. Outcomes: Adiposity was assessed by body mass index (BMI) and waist circumference (WC), QoL and functional impairments by physical and psychological function domains of the Short Form-36 questionnaire, Beck's Depression Inventory and the European Male Ageing Study sexual function questionnaire. Results: Complete data on sexual activities and erectile function were available in 2734 (92%) and 3193 (95%) of the participants respectively. From the population studied, 814 men were obese (BMI >= 30 kg/m(2)) and 1171 had WC >= 102 cm, 25% of all men were unable to do vigorous activity and 2-13% reported depressive symptoms. Symptoms of sexual dysfunction ranged between 22% (low sexual desire) and 40% (infrequent morning erections) of the participants. Among obese men with both BMI >= 30 kg/m(2) and WC >= 102 cm, at least one symptom of impaired physical, psychological and sexual function was reported by 41, 43 and 73% of the participants respectively. Compared with the reference group of non-obese men (BMI = 30 kg/m(2) and WC >= 102 cm more frequently reported at least one symptom of impaired physical function (odds ratio (OR)=2.67; confidence interval (CI): 2.07-3.45, P = 102 cm even with BMI = 30 kg/m(2) and WC < 102 cm generally did not suffer from increased impaired physical or sexual health. Men with high BMI and WC were at even greater likelihood of having a composite of two or more or three or more symptoms compared with those with normal BMI and WC. Conclusions: Men with high WC, including those who are 'non-obese' with BMI < 30 kg/m(2), have poor QoL with symptoms of impaired physical, psychological and sexual functions. Health promotion to improve QoL should focus on prevention of obesity and central fat accumulation

Symptomatic androgen deficiency develops only when both total and free testosterone decline in obese men who may have incident biochemical secondary hypogonadism: Prospective results from the EMAS

OBJECTIVE: Limited evidence supports the use of free testosterone (FT) for diagnosing hypogonadism when sex hormone-binding globulin (SHBG) is altered. Low total testosterone (TT) is commonly encountered in obesity where SHBG is typically decreased. We aimed to assess the contribution of FT in improving the diagnosis of symptomatic secondary hypogonadism (SH), identified initially by low total testosterone (TT), and then further differentiated by normal FT (LNSH) or low FT (LLSH). DESIGN: Prospective observational study with a median follow-up of 4.3 years. PATIENTS: Three thousand three hundred sixty-nine community-dwelling men aged 40-79 years from eight European centres. MEASUREMENTS: Subjects were categorized according to baseline and follow-up biochemical status into persistent eugonadal (referent group; n = 1880), incident LNSH (eugonadism to LNSH; n = 101) and incident LLSH (eugonadism to LLSH; n = 38). Predictors and clinical features associated with the transition from eugonadism to LNSH or LLSH were assessed. RESULTS: The cumulative incidence of LNSH and LLSH over 4.3 years was 4.9% and 1.9%, respectively. Baseline obesity predicted both LNSH and LLSH, but the former occurred more frequently in younger men. LLSH, but not LNSH, was associated with new/worsened sexual symptoms, including low desire [OR = 2.67 (1.27-5.60)], erectile dysfunction [OR = 4.53 (2.05-10.01)] and infrequent morning erections [OR = 3.40 (1.48-7.84)]. CONCLUSIONS: These longitudinal data demonstrate the importance of FT in the diagnosis of hypogonadism in obese men with low TT and SHBG. The concurrent fall in TT and FT identifies the minority (27.3%) of men with hypogonadal symptoms, which were not present in the majority developing low TT with normal FT.status: publishe

Comparison of serum testosterone and estradiol measurements in 3174 European men using platform immunoassay and mass spectrometry; relevance for the diagnostics in aging men

Background: The limitations of serum testosterone and estradiol (E-2) measurements using nonextraction platform immunoassays (IAs) are widely recognized. Switching to more specific mass spectrometry (MS)-based methods has been advocated, but directly comparative data on the two methods are scarce. Methods: We compared serum testosterone and E-2 measurements in a large sample of middle-aged/elderly men using a common platform IA and a gas chromatography (GC)-MS method, in order to assess their limitations and advantages, and to diagnose male hypogonadism. Of subjects from the European Male Aging Study (n = 3174; age 40-79 years), peripheral serum testosterone and E-2 were analyzed using established commercial platform IAs (Roche Diagnostics E170) and in-house GC MS methods. Results: Over a broad concentration range, serum testosterone concentration measured by IA and MS showed high correlation (R=0.93, P40.8 pmol/l). Using MS as the comparator method, IA ascertained low testosterone compatible with hypogonadism (120 pmol/l) 88.4 and 88.6%. Conclusion: A validated platform IA is sufficient to detect subnormal testosterone concentrations in the diagnosis of male hypogonadism. The IA used for E-2 measurements showed poor correlation with MS and may only be suitable for the detection of high E-2 in men

The ability of three different models of frailty to predict all-cause mortality: Results from the European Male Aging Study (EMAS)

Few studies have directly compared the ability of the most commonly used models of frailty to predict mortality among community-dwelling individuals. Here, we used a frailty index (FI), frailty phenotype (FP), and FRAIL scale (FS) to predict mortality in the EMAS. Participants were aged 40-79 years (n = 2929) at baseline and 6.6% (n = 193) died over a median 4.3 years of follow-up. The FI was generated from 39 deficits, including self-reported health, morbidities, functional performance and psychological assessments. The FP and FS consisted of five phenotypic criteria and both categorized individuals as robust when they had 0 criteria, prefrail as 1-2 criteria and frail as 3+ criteria. The mean FI increased linearly with age (r(2) = 0.21) and in Cox regression models adjusted for age, center, smoking and partner status the hazard ratio (HR) for death for each unit increase of the FI was 1.49. Men who were prefrail or frail by either the FP or FS definitions, had a significantly increased risk of death compared to their robust counterparts. Compared to robust men, those who were FP frail at baseline had a HR for death of 3.84, while those who were FS frail had a HR of 3.87. All three frailty models significantly predicted future mortality among community-dwelling, middle-aged and older European men after adjusting for potential confounders. Our data suggest that the choice of frailty model may not be of paramount importance when predicting future risk of death, enabling flexibility in the approach used. (C) 2013 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved