Impact of Lower Urinary Tract Symptom on Quality of Life in Young Men

Oh, Kyu Hwan; Ku, Ja Hyeon; Park, Young Ho

Abstract

PURPOSE
To evaluate the impact of lower urinary tract symptom (LUTS) on restlessness and quality of life (QoL) in young men.
MATERIALS AND METHODS
The National Institutes of Health (NIH) - Chronic Prostatitis Symptom Index (CPSI) was used to identify men with LUTS in a community. The questionnaire also asked about sociodemographic characteristics. A total of 15,264 men, with LUTS without pain, were included in this study.
RESULTS
Of the subjects, 521 (3.4%) felt their bladder did not empty fully after urinating more than 20% of the time, while 1,495 (9.7%) had to urinate again within 2 hours more than 20% of the time. Men dwelling in major towns were more likely to report they experienced incomplete emptying (p<0.001) and frequency (p<0.001). As educational level increased, the likelihood of frequency decreased (p=0.033), but that of incomplete emptying did not. In the multivariate model used, men experienced mild incomplete emptying had a 5.2-fold greater risk for restlessness (odds ratio [OR], 5.21; p<0.001) and those experiencing moderate to severe incomplete emptying had a 14.8-fold greater risk (OR, 14.84; p<0.001) than men that did not experience incomplete emptying. Mild frequency was associated with a 6.9-fold greater risk of restlessness (OR, 6.91; p<0.001) and moderate to severe frequency was associated with a 52.7-fold greater risk (OR, 52.67; p<0.001) than no frequency.
CONCLUSIONS
The community-based prevalence of LUTS was found to be high in the population studied. The study indicated that demographic variables might influence the prevalence of LUTS in young men. In addition, our findings suggest that young men with LUTS experience a negative impact on their QoL.