Effect of the Household Type on the Prevalence of Climacteric Syndrome Among Middle-aged Men

Abstract

Background and Objectives: Research on climacteric syndrome among middle-aged men remains scant compared to the research among women. Moreover, limited research has been conducted on climacteric syndrome among older adults living alone, a population that is growing due to accel-erated population aging, particularly research on the health interventions for older men living alone who are more vulnerable than older women living alone. This cross-sectional study inves-tigated whether the prevalence of climacteric syndrome is associated with the type of household middle-aged men live in and identified the determinants of climacteric syndrome based on the household type. Materials and Methods: We surveyed 600 middle-aged men (those aged between 40 and 64) living in multi-person households and 600 middle-aged men living alone about general characteristics and diet-related factors. Climacteric syndrome was measured using the Aging Males’ Symptoms scale. Data were analyzed using Pearson’s chi-squared test, Fisher’s exact test, and logistic regression. Results: The results showed that the risk of climacteric syndrome among middle-aged men living alone is 1.6 times higher than the risk among middle-aged men living in multi-person households (p = 0.006). In multi-person households, income and breakfast frequency were found to predict climacteric syndrome (p < 0.05), while age, breakfast frequency, dinner frequency, and weekly eating out frequency predicted climacteric syndrome in single-person households (p < 0.05). Conclusion: In single-person households, dietary factors are more closely linked to the prevalence of climacteric syndrome than in multi-person households. This result highlights the need for climacteric syndrome interventions for middle-aged men whose health concerns may persist into older adulthood.