PROSTATISM SYMPTOMS IN A RANDOMLY SELECTED POPULATION - INTRODUCTION OF A PATIENT ADMINISTERED POPULATION-BASED SYMPTOM EVALUATION SCORE

A questionnaire concerning micturition symptoms and bother was answere d by 2559 (66%) randomly selected males. Voiding problems increased wi th age from about 4 to 40%. The symptoms were weakly but significantly correlated to each other (r(s) < 0.55). The ability of a particular s ymptom question to predict whether a subject actually would seek a doc tor was generally low. A score system with a maximum score of 33 point s was constructed. If prostatism was defined as a certain score or hig her, a change in the definition in the score interval 4-10 would chang e the number of subjects with this syndrome with approximately 10%/sco re point. As a consequence of the results, the use of a symptom score as a criterion for the decision to treat patients suffering from prost atism is challenged. A patient administered symptom evaluation form is strongly recommended to obtain a more objective symptom registration.