INTERPRETATION We found weak correlation between signs , symptoms and testosterone levels , uncertainty about what threshold testosterone levels should be considered low for aging men and wide variation in estimated prevalence of the condition .
It is therefore difficult to extrapolate the method of diagnosing pathologic hypogonadism in younger men to clinical decisions regarding age-related testosterone decline in aging men
BACKGROUND Physicians diagnose and treat suspected hypogonadism in older men by extrapolating from the defined clinical entity of hypogonadism found in younger men .
We conducted a systematic review to estimate the accuracy of clinical symptoms and signs for predicting low testosterone among aging men .
Prevalence and incidence of androgen deficiency in middle-aged and older men: estimates from the Massachusetts Male Aging Study.
Little is known about the descriptive epidemiology of and rogen deficiency . In this study , we sought to address this issue by providing estimates of the crude and age-specific prevalence and incidence rates of and rogen deficiency in a r and omly sample d population -based cohort of middle-aged and older men . Data on and rogen deficiency ( defined using both signs/symptoms plus total and calculated free testosterone ) were available for n = 1691 ( baseline ) and n = 1087 ( follow-up ) men from the Massachusetts Male Aging Study .  Crude and age-specific prevalence and incidence rates were calculated . Based on these estimates , projections for the number of cases of and rogen deficiency in the 40- to 69-yr-old U.S. male population were computed . Estimates of the crude prevalence of and rogen deficiency at baseline and follow-up were 6.0 and 12.3 % , respectively . Prevalence increased significantly with age . From baseline age-specific prevalence data , it is estimated that there are approximately 2.4 million 40- to 69-yr-old U.S. males with and rogen deficiency . The crude incidence rate of and rogen deficiency was 12.3 per 1,000 person-years , and the rate increased significantly ( P < 0.0001 ) with age . Based on these incidence data , we can expect approximately 481,000 new cases of and rogen deficiency per year in U.S. men 40 - 69 yr old
INTERPRETATION We found weak correlation between signs , symptoms and testosterone levels , uncertainty about what threshold testosterone levels should be considered low for aging men and wide variation in estimated prevalence of the condition .
It is therefore difficult to extrapolate the method of diagnosing pathologic hypogonadism in younger men to clinical decisions regarding age-related testosterone decline in aging men
BACKGROUND Physicians diagnose and treat suspected hypogonadism in older men by extrapolating from the defined clinical entity of hypogonadism found in younger men .
We conducted a systematic review to estimate the accuracy of clinical symptoms and signs for predicting low testosterone among aging men .