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Prevalence and Incidence of Androgen Deficiency in Middle-Aged and Older Men: Estimates from the Massachusetts Male Aging Study

New England Research Institutes (A.B.A., A.B.O., D.J.B., W.B.S., J.B.M.), Watertown, Massachusetts 02472; University of Massachusetts Medical School (C.L.), Worcester, Massachusetts 01655; Department of Medicine (A.M.M.), University of Washington School of Medicine, Seattle, Washington 98195; and Geriatric Research, Education and Clinical Center (A.M.M.), Department of Veterans Affairs Puget Sound Health Care System, Seattle, Washington 98108

Address all correspondence and requests for reprints to: John B. McKinlay, Ph.D., Principal Investigator, New England Research Institutes, 9 Galen Street, Watertown, Massachusetts 02472. E-mail: MMAS{at}neri.org.

Little is known about the descriptive epidemiology of androgen deficiency. In this study, we sought to address this issue by providing estimates of the crude and age-specific prevalence and incidence rates of androgen deficiency in a randomly sampled population-based cohort of middle-aged and older men. Data on androgen 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 androgen deficiency in the 40- to 69-yr-old U.S. male population were computed. Estimates of the crude prevalence of androgen 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 androgen deficiency. The crude incidence rate of androgen 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 androgen deficiency per year in U.S. men 40–69 yr old.

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