title: Validation of the German version of the 'Hypogonadism Related Symptom Scale' (HRS) in andrological patients with infertility, HIV infection and metabolic syndrome.
abstract: As commonly used self-reported screening instruments for male hypogonadism demonstrated lack of specificity, a Hypogonadism Related Symptom Scale (HRS) was developed in 2009 as a novel self-rating screening tool. As the questionnaire has not been validated, the purpose of our study was to perform a validation in patients presenting with different disorders (e.g. infertility, HIV infection or metabolic syndrome) and disease-related risk to develop hypogonadism. Two hundred and eighteen patients aged 19-71 years (40.1 ± 9.5) who completed the HRS and other common questionnaires [International Index Of Erectile Function (IIEF), National Institutes of Health Chronic Prostatitis Symptom Index (NIH-CPSI), Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS), short form (SF)-12] were included. In all patients, blood levels of total testosterone, luteinizing hormone, follicle-stimulating hormone, oestradiol and sex hormone-binding globulin were determined and free testosterone was calculated. Cronbach's α for the scale was 0.896, split-half 0.871 for the 1st half and 0.807 for the 2nd half. Spearman-Brown coefficient was 0.767, and Guttman split-half coefficient was 0.759. Consistent correlations were found between HRS and IIEF5 (ρ = 0.57, P < 0.001), and HADS (ρ = -0.6, P < 0.001). In addition, HRS was significantly correlated with total testosterone (ρ = 0.135, P < 0.05), free testosterone (ρ = 0.148, P < 0.05) and oestradiol (ρ = -0.134, P < 0.05). Our validation study confirms the data from the initial development of the HRS questionnaire. Clinicians might have an additional advantage from the HRS when investigating males with suspected hypogonadism.
authors.affiliation: Department of Urology, Pediatric Urology and Andrology, Justus Liebig University, Giessen, Germany; Outpatient Department, The Republican Specialized Center of Urology, Tashkent, Uzbekistan.
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Alidjanov
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Wolf
authors.forename: H-C
authors.initials: HC
authors.lastname: Schuppe
authors.forename: W
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Weidner
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Diemer
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Linn
authors.forename: I
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Halefeldt
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Wagenlehner
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Wiltink
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Pilatz
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D005640:Follicle Stimulating Hormone / Q000097:blood; D015658:HIV Infections / Q000097:blood / Q000150:complications*; D006801:Humans; D007006:Hypogonadism / Q000097:blood / Q000150:complications / Q000175:diagnosis*; D007986:Luteinizing Hormone / Q000097:blood; D008297:Male; D024821:Metabolic Syndrome / Q000097:blood / Q000150:complications*; D008875:Middle Aged; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D012738:Sex Hormone-Binding Globulin; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D063189:Symptom Assessment; D013739:Testosterone / Q000097:blood; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D012738:Sex Hormone-Binding Globulin; D013739:Testosterone; D007986:Luteinizing Hormone; D005640:Follicle Stimulating Hormone
keywords: Andrology; hypogonadism; metabolic syndrome; questionnaires; validation