Lack of Disparity in Lower Urinary Tract Symptom Severity Between Community-Dwelling Non-Hispanic White, Mexican-American, and African-American Men

Abstract

Objectives-With significant differences in risks of renal failure in different ethnic/racial groups in the U.S., we sought to determine if disparities exist in reporting lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS) in Non-Hispanic White (NHW), Mexican American (MA), and African American (AA) men. Epidemiological studies in AA men suggest they may have more LUTS compared to NHWs, but little is known about symptom prevalence among MA men.Methods-Data were collected from a prospective, community-based cohort assembled to study risk factors associated with prostate cancer. Measures included demographics, prostate specific antigen (PSA), body mass index (BMI), and family history of prostate cancer. LUTS severity was assessed in 2,804 (1,485 NHW, 964 MA, 355 AA) men without prostate cancer using the American Urological Association Symptom Index (AUASI).Results-No significant difference (p = 0.998) was seen in prevalence of moderate or severe LUTS in NHW (34%), MA (34%), and AA (33%) men. No differences were found in either obstructive or irritative symptoms among the three groups. Age, PSA level, BMI, and family history did not affect symptom severity.Conclusions-Rates of moderate to severe LUTS symptoms in this cohort were similar to those in other community-based populations of NHW men. Lower rates of moderate/severe symptoms were noted in AA men than previously reported. MA men had similar degrees of LUTS as the general population, and with their increased risk for diabetes and renal disease, in-depth study of this population is warranted.

The prevalence of lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS) and overactive bladder (OAB) by racial/ethnic group and age: Results from OAB‐POLL

“…The oversampling of minorities in OAB‐POLL allowed for the prevalence of LUTS and OAB to be evaluated across the three largest racial/ethnic groups in the US. In contrast prior research showing that LUTS other than UI are similar across racial/ethnic groups,8–10 OAB‐POLL found statistically significant differences by racial/ethnic group for several LUTS among men and for a few LUTS among women. The prevalence of OAB was highest among AA men and women (20% and 33%).…”

“…Some research has evaluated the impact of racial/ethnic group on LUTS, UI,5–7 and OAB 8–10. While similar rates of LUTS have been found across racial/ethnic groups,8–10 UI has been shown to be more prevalent among white women compared with African‐American (AA) and Asian women,7, 11 and data on the prevalence of UI for Hispanic women in relation to other racial/ethnic groups are mixed 7, 12.…”

Lower urinary tract symptoms suggestive of benign prostatic hyperplasia among Ghanaian men: a hospital-based cross-sectional prospective study

“…18,[22][23][24] It should also be mentioned here that, our observed prevalence was also higher than results obtained elsewhere in which IPSS tool was employed. 14,19,25 However, the prevalence in this present study was comparable to reports from hospital-based studies in south-western Nigeria (88.0%), Ethiopia (84.4%) and Port Harcourt, Nigeria (72.2%). 15,16,26 These observations tend to indicate that prevalence of LUTS suggestive of BPH in hospital-based studies is comparatively higher than that reported in population-based studies.…”

Prevalence of BPH and lower urinary tract symptoms in West Africans

“…The estimate of 19.9% based on self-reported IPSS is comparable and in some cases higher than estimates from mostly white populations from France (12%), Germany (14%) and Canada (21%). 13–15 However, our estimate for West African men was lower than those from studies using this same IPSS measure among African-American men in the United States, 7,10,11,17 which ranged from 26 to 45% (Table 3).…”