Prevalence of three lower urinary tract symptoms in men-a population-based study

Lower urinary tract symptoms are a common and costly public health issue. In earlier studies, the prevalence of urinary symptoms can be seen to fluctuate because there is no consensus about how to define and categorize the severity of the symptoms.

The study was undertaken in order to investigate the prevalence of three common lower urinary tract symptoms (urgency, stress incontinence and post-micturition dribbling) and analyse health care-seeking behaviour.

A self-administered questionnaire was developed to investigate all men aged 40-80 years residing in the community of Surahammar, Sweden. The questionnaire included items on three specific urinary symptoms: urgency, stress incontinence and post-micturition dribbling, and one question about health care-seeking behaviour.

A response rate of 86% was obtained in the questionnaire study. The overall prevalence of the lower urinary tract symptoms was 24%. The prevalence increased from 20% in the group aged 40-49 years to 28% in the group aged 70-80 years (P < 0.01). Post-micturition dribbling (21%) was the most frequent symptom, and stress incontinence (2.4%) was the least frequent symptom. The number of participants who sought health care was low (4%) and increased significantly with age (P < 0.001).

The present study showed that 24% of the Swedish cohort of men of 40-80 years of age reported at least one of the following symptoms: urgency, stress incontinence or post-micturition dribbling. This study is consistent with other research regarding the low consultation frequency for these symptoms. Moreover, the study is also in accord with those findings indicating that for the majority of men with urinary symptoms, their health care providers are not aware of their problem.