Correlation between the Japanese Aging Male Questionnaire (JAMQ) and Aging Male's Symptom (AMS) scale in Japanese male.

OBJECTIVES

To clarify the correlation between the Japanese Aging Male Questionnaire (JAMQ) and the Aging Males' Symptoms (AMS) scale through the factor analysis in Japanese male.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

In 61 male patients who visited the LOH outpatient clinic of Teikyo University Hospital, subjective symptoms featuring LOH were evaluated using the JAMQ and AMS. Factor analysis was performed on each questionnaire to clarify the LOH-related factors. Correlational analysis between the subscale scores representing such factors and the serum hormone profiles was also performed.

RESULTS

Factor analysis of the JAMQ revealed an internal structure consisting of three subgroups: somatic, psychological and sexual factors with good categorization of the indicators to the appropriate subgroup. In contrast, the indicators of the AMS showed incomplete conformity to the subgroups of the JAMQ. Correlational analysis showed that each score on the JAMQ subgroups had the highest coefficient of correlation with the corresponding AMS subgroup (p < 0.001). There was no significant association between total and free serum testosterone levels and the total and subscale scores on either AMS or JAMQ.

CONCLUSIONS

The results of factor analysis suggest that the sexual perceptions of Japanese populations might differ from those of Caucasian populations. JAMQ would be useful to separately assess individual aspects of somatic, psychological and sexual symptoms related to LOH among Japanese males.