Lower Urinary Tract Symptoms in Male Patients With Multiple Sclerosis: Prevalence and Associations With Quality of...

Lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS) are frequent in male patients with multiple sclerosis (MS). This study was planned to investigate the frequency and distress of LUTS in men with MS and their association with quality of life (QoL), depression, and anxiety.

One hundred male patients with MS were included in the study. The International Incontinence Consultation Questionnaire-Male LUTS questionnaire (ICIQ-MLUTS) was used to investigate LUTS. The King's Health questionnaire (KHQ) was used to evaluate QoL and the Hospital Anxiety and Depression (HAD-A, HAD-D) scale was used to evaluate depression and anxiety.

A total of 100 men with an average age of 39.3 ± 9.3 (range, 20-63) years were evaluated. The mean disease duration was 9.3 ± 6.0 (range, 1-26) years. The mean EDSS score was 2.2 ± 1.8 (median: 2, range: 0-6.5). A total of 91% of patients reported at least one LUTS. The most common storage symptoms were urgency and urgency urinary incontinence (IU), and the most common voiding symptoms were incomplete emptying, hesitancy, and intermittency. ICIQ-MLUTS incontinence and voiding scores were significantly correlated with disease duration, EDSS, HAD-A, HAD-D, and all KHQ subgroups, except general health perceptions.

LUTS, including storage and voiding symptoms, were highly prevalent in male MS patients and significantly correlated with reduced QoL, increased HAD-D and HAD-A scores.