Association between changes in work environment and andropause symptoms during the COVID-19 pandemic in Japanese male workers: a cross-sectional study

This study investigated the association between changes in the work environment due to the COVID-19 pandemic and andropause symptoms in Japanese male workers. A web survey of 374 employed male workers in Japan (mean age=45.6 yr, SD=13.2) was conducted in February 2023. Participants were asked about harassment at work, telecommuting hours, working hours, and communication with supervisors and coworkers. Andropause symptoms were measured using the Aging Males' Symptoms scale. Multiple regression analyses were conducted. Certain changes in the work environment were significantly associated with the total score of andropause symptoms, including increased (β=0.30), unchanged (β=0.19), and decreased (β=0.23) harassment at work, decreased communication with supervisors (β=-0.20), and telecommuting hours making up approximately half of (β=0.12) or almost all working hours (β=0.09) (all p