Prevalence and natural history of urinary symptoms in a longitudinal national prostate cancer screening...

The AUA Symptom score (AUASS) was administered for three consecutive years to participants in a national prostate cancer screening study. Although the prevalence symptom free (AUSS=0) individuals was very low (<7%) in this cohort of 16 000 men, mean AUASS and proportion of men in the mild, moderate and severe categories are equivalent to community-based studies from around the world. Across all ages and races, AUASS drops after 12 months but returns to original levels at 24 months. No differences in AUASS were noted for race when adjusted for age. Age is most strongly correlated to the increase in AUASS and to the severity of urinary symptoms.