Complaint of insomnia as a predictor of aging symptoms in males at a men's health clinic

Abstract

Introduction: Issues of men's health have been greatly researched by scholars in recent decades. At men's health clinics, many patients complain of both insomnia and aging males' symptoms (AMS). These symptoms might be influenced by biological, psychological or even social factors. The aim of this study was to investigate different aspects of the relationship between insomnia and aging symptoms. Methods: This cross-sectional study included 231 males from a men's health clinic. Participants completed a set of general data and screening assessments, including the AMS rating scale, insomnia severity index (ISI), Beck depression inventory-II (BDI-II) and Beck anxiety inventory Chinese version (BAI), to investigate the severity of aging symptoms, insomnia, depression and anxiety. Results: The ISI correlated significantly with the AMS scale, both with (partial correlation coefficient=0.470) and without (r=0.580) controlled variances of depression and anxiety. Using linear regression, aging symptoms were statistically predicted by the severity of the ISI, and a substantial proportion of the variance was explained (adjusted R 2=0.410). When all variables were included, this proportion rose to 55.3% (adjusted R 2=0.553). Conclusion: We suggest that insomnia is a good predictor of aging symptoms across all age groups of men. © 2012 Informa UK, Ltd.