Sleep and partner-specific quality of life in partners of men with lower urinary tract symptoms compared with partners of men from the general population

Abstract

Objective. The aims of this study were to examine differences between partners of men with lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS) suggestive of benign prostatic obstruction (BPO) and partners of men from the population regarding sleep and two aspects of quality of life, partner-specific quality of life and health-related quality of life (HRQoL), and to identify factors related to the partner-specific quality of life and the parameter sleep efficiency. Materials and methods. The design was descriptive and comparative. The subjects were partners of men with LUTS suggestive of BPO (n = 126) and partners of randomly selected men from the general population (n = 131). Self-administered questionnaires about demography, comorbidity, sleep, sexuality, partner-specific quality of life and HRQoL were used. Results. Partners of men with LUTS suggestive of BPO were significantly more affected in all variables measuring partner-specific quality of life compared with partners from the population. The most impaired aspects were compassion and worry about an operation or cancer. In logistic regression, the only explanatory factors were having a partner belonging to the LUTS group for impaired partner-specific quality of life and having a bed partner for high sleep efficiency. There were no significant differences between the two groups regarding the quantity and quality of sleep or the HRQoL. Conclusions. The partner-specific quality of life was impaired in partners of men with LUTS suggestive of BPO. Sleep and HRQoL did not differ between partners of men with LUTS and partners from the population.

Keywords:

• Benign prostatic hyperplasia
• insomnia
• lower urinary tract symptoms
• partner
• quality of life
• sleep disorders

Acknowledgements

This study was supported by a grant from the Medical Research Council of Southeast Sweden, 2004–2008. We are grateful to the Department of Urology, Ryhov County Hospital, Jönköping, for their cooperation in this study.

Declaration of interest: The authors report no conflicts of interest. The authors alone are responsible for the content and writing of the paper.