Severity and bother of lower urinary tract symptoms among men aged 30–80 years: Tampere Ageing Male Urological Study (TAMUS)

Abstract

Objective: The aim of this study was to determine the severity and bother of lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS) and evaluate the burden of each symptom in a male population.

Materials and methods: Postal questionnaires were sent to 7470 men aged 30–80 years. The Danish Prostatic Symptom Score (DAN-PSS-1) was used to determine the severity, bother and total symptom score for each symptom. To assess the total burden of each symptom at the population level, the total symptom scores were weighted by the prevalence they represented.

Results: The overall response rate was 58.7% (4384/7470 men). Urgency caused the greatest burden to men aged 30–80, with a prevalence-weighted symptom score of 0.712. Urgency affected 66.2% of men and 5.1% experienced moderate symptoms with moderate bother. Post-micturition dribble caused the second greatest burden, with a prevalence-weighted score of 0.704, affecting 58.7% of men and with 31.1% reporting mild bother from it. Nocturia and feeling of incomplete emptying caused the third and fourth greatest burdens, respectively. In young men (aged 30 and 40 years), post-micturition dribble caused the greatest burden, as moderate symptoms were common and caused mild bother to 11.4%. Among retired (70 and 80 years) and middle-aged (50 and 60 years) men, urgency was the most burdensome symptom.

Conclusions: The most burdensome LUTS in men aged 30–80 years was urgency, followed by post-micturition dribble, nocturia and feeling of incomplete emptying. Urgency and nocturia were prominent in old men and post-micturition dribble was noted in young men.

Keywords:

• Bother
• burden
• epidemiology
• lower urinary tract symptoms
• LUTS
• severity
• urology

Disclosure statement

Anssi Auvinen received lecture fees from MSD. Teuvo L. J. Tammela is a paid consultant to Astellas, Amgen and Janssen-Cilag. The other authors report no conflicts of interest.