Cj. Girman et al., NATURAL-HISTORY OF PROSTATISM - IMPACT OF URINARY SYMPTOMS ON QUALITY-OF-LIFE IN 2115 RANDOMLY SELECTED COMMUNITY MEN, Urology, 44(6), 1994, pp. 825-831
Objectives. To assess the impact of urinary symptoms on health-related
quality of life (QoL), including degree of bother, worry, interferenc
e with daily activities, psychological well-being, sexual function, an
d general health in a community-based cohort of men. Methods. Eligible
white men (n = 2115) aged 40 to 79 years who had not undergone previo
us prostate surgery or had prostate cancer were randomly selected from
county residents. These subjects completed a questionnaire, which ask
ed them about frequency and bother of urinary symptoms, interference w
ith daily activities, psychological well-being, worry about urologic d
isease, sexual functioning, and general health. Results. Men with mode
rate to severe voiding symptoms reported, on average, four to six time
s the degree of bother and interference with daily activities and twic
e the level of worry of men with mild symptoms. Nearly five times the
degree of bother and interference was reported for those with mild tha
n with no symptoms. A higher percentage of men with moderate to severe
symptoms (26% to 35%) than mild symptoms (< 8%) reported limiting flu
ids before bed, travel, or driving 2 hours. Receiver operating charact
eristic curves support the recommended symptom index cutpoint for mode
rate symptoms (= 8) by differentiating men with and without bother, in
terference with daily living, or dissatisfaction with urinary conditio
n. Conclusions. Moderate to severe urinary symptoms have a significant
impact on men's lives in terms of degree of bother, worry, interferen
ce with daily living, and psychological well-being. The recommended cu
tpoint on symptom index differentiates men with and without decrement
in health-related quality of life.