title: Comparability and reproducibility of adult male anogenital distance measurements for two different methods.
abstract: The distance from the genitals to the anus, anogenital distance, reflects androgen concentration during prenatal development in mammals. The use of anogenital distance in human studies is still very limited and the quality and consistency of measurements is an important methodological issue. The aim of this study was to assess the feasibility and reproducibility of adult male anogenital distance measurements by two different methods. All men were attending an outpatient clinic at a university hospital and underwent an andrological examination and completed a brief questionnaire. Two variants of anogenital distance [from the anus to the posterior base of the scrotum (AGDAS ) and to the cephalad insertion of the penis (AGDAP )] by two methods (lithotomy or frog-legged position) were assessed in 70 men. Within and between coefficient of variations, intra-class correlation coefficients, two-way repeated-measures analysis of variance, and scatter and Bland-Altman plots were calculated. The two methods produced similar values for AGDAP but different estimates for AGDAS . Nonetheless, the overall agreement (ICC ≥ 0.80) was acceptable for both measures. Therefore, both methods are internally consistent and adequate for epidemiological studies, and may be used depending on the available medical resources, clinical setting, and populations.
authors.affiliation: Division of Preventive Medicine and Public Health, Department of Health and Social Sciences, University of Murcia School of Medicine, Murcia (Murcia), Spain.
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Mendiola
authors.affiliation: Department of Urology, 'Reina Sofia' University General Hospital, Murcia (Murcia), Spain.
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Oñate-Celdrán
authors.affiliation: Department of Urology, 'Reina Sofia' University General Hospital, Murcia (Murcia), Spain.
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Samper-Mateo
authors.affiliation: Division of Preventive Medicine and Public Health, Department of Health and Social Sciences, University of Murcia School of Medicine, Murcia (Murcia), Spain.
authors.forename: J J
authors.initials: JJ
authors.lastname: Arense-Gonzalo
authors.affiliation: Department of Urology, 'Reina Sofia' University General Hospital, Murcia (Murcia), Spain.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Torres-Roca
authors.affiliation: Department of Urology, 'Reina Sofia' University General Hospital, Murcia (Murcia), Spain.
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Sánchez-Rodríguez
authors.affiliation: Department of Urology, 'Reina Sofia' University General Hospital, Murcia (Murcia), Spain.
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: García-Escudero
authors.affiliation: Department of Urology, 'Reina Sofia' University General Hospital, Murcia (Murcia), Spain.
authors.forename: L O
authors.initials: LO
authors.lastname: Fontana-Compiano
authors.affiliation: Department of Urology and Obstetrics/Gynecology, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA, USA.
authors.forename: M L
authors.initials: ML
authors.lastname: Eisenberg
authors.affiliation: Department of Preventive Medicine, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, USA.
authors.forename: S H
authors.initials: SH
authors.lastname: Swan
authors.affiliation: Division of Preventive Medicine and Public Health, Department of Health and Social Sciences, University of Murcia School of Medicine, Murcia (Murcia), Spain.|Department of Preventive Medicine, 'Reina Sofia' University General Hospital, Murcia (Murcia), Spain.
authors.forename: A M
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: Torres-Cantero
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D001003:Anal Canal / Q000033:anatomy & histology*; D000886:Anthropometry / Q000379:methods*; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010502:Perineum / Q000033:anatomy & histology*; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires
keywords: anogenital distance; male; reproducibility