Perception of nocturia and medical consulting behavior among community-dwelling women

We investigated the perception of nocturia and possible explanatory factors for medical consultation among community-dwelling women. Between October 2004 and February 2005, women aged > or =40 years living in Matsu, Taiwan, who were identified as having nocturia in a previous epidemiological survey, were interviewed with a questionnaire eliciting information about nocturia-specific quality of life impact (N-QOL), perceptions of nocturia, and medical-consultation behavior. A total of 328 women completed this study. Of these, 187 (57%), 99 (30.2%), 30 (9.1%), and 12 (3.7%) reported one, two, three, and four or more nocturia episodes, respectively, per night during the past 4 weeks. Most women attributed nocturia to aging or excessive fluid intake and had a lack of medical information. Overall, only 13.1% had visited a doctor for this condition. Nocturia episodes [> or = three vs Show more