Androgen Replacement Therapy Improves Health-Related Quality of Life in Late Onset Hypogonadism Patients

We examined the effects of androgen replacement therapy (ART) on scores of a comprehensive healthrelated quality oflif e (HR-QOL) scale (SF-36) in late onset hypogonadism (LOH) patients. We received answer sheets on SF-36 from 112 men aged 37 to 75 years (mean 56.2) who underwent ART between September 2002 and June 2007. The serum free testosterone levels before ART was 7.32±2.09 pg/ml. 250 mg oftestosterone enanthate was injected intra-muscularly once per 3-4 weeks for 3 months. When ART was effective to improve the symptoms, it was continued for a total of 6 months and was stopped. We evaluated the changes in score on SF-36 between pre-treatment and 3, 6, and 9 months after initiation of treatment. Although prior to ART all subcategory scores on SF-36 were lower than those for age-matched healthy Japanese men, each was significantly improved after beginning of ART, especially that for the roleemotional (RE), social functioning (SF), mental health (MH) and vitality (VT) subscales. No significant difference was noted between 3 months after initiation of treatment and 6 or 9 months (3 months after stopping ART) in any subcategory score. ART for LOH patients was effective not only in curing symptoms but also in improving HR-QOL. The effects of ART presented in early periods of treatments and were maintained at least 3 months after stopping the treatment