Awareness and knowledge of andropause among Chinese males in Hong Kong

Abstract

This is a pilot study that explored the awareness and knowledge of andropause among Chinese males in Hong Kong. The study employed a structured questionnaire and a convenience sample of 500 individuals at the age > or =40 years participated in the survey. A total of 397 (79.4%) of the respondents were identified as andropause-enlightened, 88.2% of whom believed that andropause was a natural aging process. Mass media was the main source of andropausal information. The andropause-enlightened respondents had poor knowledge with the mean knowledge score of 5.94. The majority identified irritability (72.5%), loss of energy (66.5%), and loss of libido (60.7%) as symptoms. Less than half of the andropause-enlightened respondents expressed that andropause could be treated and only 34 knew testosterone replacement therapy as a treatment. The present findings underscore the need for provision of health education to increase the knowledge of andropause among adult males.