IMPACT OF SYMPTOMS OF PROSTATISM ON LEVEL OF BOTHER AND QUALITY-OF-LIFE OF MEN IN THE FRENCH COMMUNITY

The impact of symptoms of prostatism on level of bother and quality of life of French men was assessed nationwide, in a representative commu nity sample of 2,011 subjects 50 to 84 years old. Bothersome level and quality of life associated with 12 urinary symptoms were assessed by face-to-face interviews, using a previously validated questionnaire fo r benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH). The international prostate sympt om score and the American Urological Association (AUA) bothersome inde x were also computed. Urgency was by far the most bothersome symptom i n French men. Nocturia and wetting underclothes ranked second in subje cts who did not undergo prostate surgery and among symptomatic patient s, respectively. Overall, symptom frequency accounted for 72% of the v ariability of symptom bother but the form and strength of this correla tion varied among symptoms from 0.18 to 0.43. Among the symptomatic su bjects who had not yet undergone prostate surgery 11%, 10% and 79%, re spectively, were dissatisfied, neutral and satisfied with the current urinary condition. Satisfaction with the urinary condition was positiv ely linked to symptom frequency (p <0.001) and symptom bother level (p <0.001). Nocturia, dysuria, daytime repeat voiding, wetting clothes a nd urgency, when severely bothersome, were independent predictors of d ecreased satisfaction with the urinary condition (p = 0.01). Approxima tely half of the patients with severe BPH symptoms expressed serious w orries and concerns with the urinary condition, and sizable levels of interference by the symptoms with daily activities, which are potentia lly affected by urinary troubles. The AUA bother index was the best de terminant of subject level of worry about the urinary condition and of interference with daily life. This study supported the concomitant us e of the international prostate symptom score and the AUA bother index in further research studies of BPH related impairments in quality of life.