The International Continence Society "Benign Prostatic Hyperplasia" Study: the botherosomeness of urinary symptoms

We assessed the bothersomeness of lower urinary tract symptoms as reported by men, and investigated relationships among occurrence, degree of problem caused and age.

Questionnaire data from 1,271 men presenting with lower urinary tract symptoms in 12 countries were analyzed. Statistical methods included distributions, cross tabulations, chi-square analysis and Spearman's rank correlation coefficients.

Although prevalence and bothersomeness were moderately positively related, voiding symptoms were the most prevalent whereas the most bothersome were predominantly storage symptoms, including incontinence. While prevalence showed a broadly decreasing trend with age, bothersomeness was relatively unrelated to age.

These findings suggest that symptom occurrence alone does not necessarily reflect the degree to which patients are bothered by lower urinary tract symptoms. Therefore, when deciding on treatment it is important not only to consider the presence and frequency of lower urinary tract symptoms but also the bother that they cause.