Clinical assessment and validation of an Arabic Aging Male Symptoms questionnaire in patients with androgen deficiency

Aim. To develop and to validate an Arabic Aging Male Symptoms (AMS) tool and to clinically assess patients with hypoganadism after hormonal treatment. Methods. The tool was translated into Arabic and tested on 15 Saudi men. During a period of 9 months all males presented to the andrology clinic of the main University Hospital, King Saud University, Saudi Arabia with signs and symptoms of hypogonadism, were included in the study. Arabic AMS scale was applied in the base line visit, then 12 weeks after treatment. Testosterone was monitored before treatment, 4 weeks and after 12 weeks. Results. Ninety-two subjects were included, Cronbach's α of 0.91 showed a very good internal consistency of the Arabic AMS questionnaire. The corresponding α for the subscales were 0.83, 0.84 and 0.73. There was a significant improvement in the mean level of TT after hormonal therapy (HT), this was reflected on the mean differences of improvement in the total Arabic AMS scores and subscales scores after HT, ranged from 31 to 35%. Conclusion. The present study revealed a significant association between testosterone levels and AMS tool manifested by a its good ability to measure the effect of treatment on quality of life for patients with hypogonadism. ©2010 Informa UK, Ltd.