Prevalence of lower urinary tract symptoms in men aged 45–79 years: a population‐based study of 40 000 Swedish men

Abstract

OBJECTIVETo estimate the age-specific prevalence and severity of lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS) among Swedish men, the intercorrelations between different symptoms, and to assess quality of life and health-seeking behaviour among men with LUTS. SUBJECTS AND METHODSIn 1997, an International Prostate Symptom Score (IPSS) questionnaire, together with other questions about lifestyle, was mailed to all men aged 45-79 years living in two counties in Sweden; the analyses included 39 928 men. RESULTSOverall, 18.5% and 4.8% of the men were moderately and severely symptomatic; the prevalence of at least one symptom was 83%. LUTS were strongly age-dependent, with 1.8% of severe symptoms among men aged 45-49 years and increasing to 9.7% among those 75-79 years old. Frequent urination was the most common symptom among men aged < 70 years and nocturia among those aged > 70 years. Symptoms like hesitancy, poor flow and intermittency were highly correlated with each other (Spearman coefficients 0.56-0.60). There was a high correlation between the IPSS and a poor score for quality of life resulting from the bothersomeness of LUTS ( r = 0.70). Among symptomatic subjects, 36% reported a poor quality of life (fairly bad, very bad or terrible). Only 29% of symptomatic subjects (IPSS > 7) reported that they had been diagnosed previously for their urinary problems, and only 11% received medication for that.

The prevalence of lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS) in the USA, the UK and Sweden: results from the Epidemiology of LUTS (EpiLUTS) study

“…Because the method of epidemiological research for EpiLUTS differs from previous studies, the prevalence rates of individual LUTS noted in EpiLUTS were considerably higher when using the at least 'sometimes' threshold than previously noted [3,11,13], whereas the at least 'often' threshold yielded lower prevalence rates. Also, the prevalence rates of LUTS in the UK were higher than the Swedish rates, whereas the inverse was previously reported [11].…”

“…none = 0, mild = 1-7) rather than by individual symptoms, thereby limiting the ability to consider the prevalence and impact of individual LUTS. Nonetheless, previous research has noted LUTS to be highly prevalent [3,[11][12][13]. As noted by Irwin et al [11] in EPIC, a large population-based study, the prevalence of at least one LUTS, using the 2002 ICS definitions, was found to be 62.5% in men and 66.6% in women aged ≥ 40 years.…”

“…The prevalence of LUTS has often been assessed in men (and infrequently in women) using the IPSS [2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9]; however, the IPSS was developed for men [10] and only three of the seven questions ask about bothersome storage symptoms. Also, the prevalence of LUTS associated with the IPSS is typically reported as a summed score (i.e.…”

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

“…These findings are consistent with a population-based study among Swedish men and Austrian men. 27,28 The presentation patterns of LUTS in this present study have shown that bladder storage symptoms were the most experienced symptoms (88.59%). This is similar to observation in a hospital-based study in Port Harcourt among Nigerians and a study in India.…”

Once Nocturia, Always Nocturia? Natural History of Nocturia in Older Men Based on Frequency-Volume Charts: The Krimpen Study

“…Furthermore, nocturia is the most bothersome lower urinary tract symptom. 8,9 Longitudinal data on the course of nocturia in community dwelling men are limited to TAMUS, which showed fluctuation of nocturia in individuals over time. 3 The value of this information for daily practice is uncertain for several reasons.…”