BPH

Community Study of Uncomplicated Lower Urinary Tract Symptoms among Male Italien Immigrants in Sydney, Australia
Ann-Maree Hughes^a, Michael J. Sladden^b, Geoffrey H.L. Hirst^c, Jeanette E. Ward<sup>a, d

a</sup>Needs Assessment and Health Outcomes Unit, Central Sydney Area Health Service, Newtown, N.S.W.;
^bDivision of Community and Rural Health, University of Tasmania, Hobart, Tas.,
^cTaylor Medical Centre, Woolloongabba, Qld., and
^dDepartment of Public Health and Community Medicine, University of Sidney, Camperdown, NSW, Australia

Address of Corresponding Author

Eur Urol 2000;37:191-198 (DOI: 10.1159/000020117)

  Key Words

• Benign prostate disease
• Lower urinary tract symptoms
• Men's health

  Abstract

Objective: To determine the prevalence, levels of bother and self-reported management of lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS) in Italian-born men aged 40-80 years.

Method: 305 randomly selected men aged 40-80 years (72% response rate) participated in a community-based study (computer-assisted telephone survey) in early 1997 in Sydney, Australia.

Results: LUTS are common: 41% of men needed to wake up at least once at night to urinate; 35% indicated they had terminal dribbling 'sometimes' or 'frequently'; 31% experienced urgency although few (3%) had urge incontinence; 19% could retain urine in their bladder during the day for no more than 2 h, and 19% experienced hesitancy. Urinary symptoms correlated moderately/poorly with self-rated bother. The prevalence of bothersome frequency and urgency was significantly age-related. Only half (n = 49, 52%) of the men bothered by urinary symptoms had seen a general practitioner (GP) about these symptoms in the last 5 years: of these three quarters had been referred to a urologist and half of these had received surgical treatment. Anxiety about prostate cancer, but not the degree of bother from urinary symptoms, independently predicted attendance at a GP (adjusted odds ratio 6.4, p = 0.006).

Conclusions: Although LUTS are common in Italian-born men, their experiences of bother do not correlate well with symptoms and do not appear to influence referral and treatment. Education is needed to improve men's understanding of the importance of 'bother' as an indicator for urological surgery.

  Author Contacts

Assoc. Prof. Jeanette Ward
NAHOU, CSAHS, Locked Bag 8
Newtown, NSW 2042 (Australia)
Tel. +61 2 9515 3245, Fax +61 2 9515 3334
E-Mail jward@nah.rpa.cs.nsw.gov.au

  Article Information

Accepted after revision: March 23, 1999
Number of Print Pages : 8
Number of Figures : 0, Number of Tables : 2, Number of References : 29