Clinical and social characteristics of Korean men with Klinefelter syndrome.
OBJECTIVE
To investigate the characteristics of Klinefelter syndrome in a consecutive series of men consulting for sexual as well as fertility problems in Korea.


METHODS
A total of 179 men with non-mosaic 47,XXY Klinefelter syndrome of the 1876 azoospermic males who visited the fertility center of our university hospital between January 2002 and January 2010 were included in this analysis. Their semen characteristics, hormone profiles, size of the prostate gland, and education level were assessed and compared with an age-matched control group of 218 fertile males. Additionally, a histological evaluation was carried out.


RESULTS
Prostate size, testicular volume, semen volume and symptom severity showed statistically significant differences in both groups (P < 0.0001). As the severity of signs and symptoms worsened, the education level decreased. Each degree of signs and symptoms was associated with a different level of education, as well as with significant differences in the level of testosterone and testicular volume (P < 0.05). Spearman's correlation coefficient showed the severity of signs and symptoms was associated with testosterone (P < 0.0001).


CONCLUSIONS
Testosterone has the strongest negative association with the severity of signs and symptoms in patients with Klinefelter syndrome. It influences the reproductive capacity, as well as the manifested signs and symptoms of hypogonadism. Furthermore, it is also associated with various aspects of life in these patients.
Department of Andrology, Center for Reproductive Medicine, CHA University, Seoul, Korea.
Chong Won
CW
Bak
Jae Sang
JS
Byun
Jee Han
JH
Lee
Ji Hye
JH
Park
Kyung-Ah
KA
Lee
Sung Han
SH
Shim
D000328:Adult; D004522:Educational Status; D006801:Humans; D007713:Klinefelter Syndrome / Q000097:blood / Q000145:classification; D008297:Male; D009929:Organ Size; D011467:Prostate / Q000033:anatomy & histology; D056910:Republic of Korea; D055101:Semen Analysis; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D012961:Sociology / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D013739:Testosterone / Q000097:blood; D055815:Young Adult
D013739:Testosterone