Sexual function in patients with LUTS suggestive of BPH

Background. Sexual function has been detected in a large sample of Italian patients affected by LUTS suggestive of BPH, by means of the ICS-Sex questi onnaire. Results: A number of 877 questionnaires were returned completely f illed and were analyzed. Fifty percent of patients declared that their sexu al life was significantly affected by their urinary symptoms. Difficulty in getting erections (58.2% of patients) and ejaculation problems (55.6%) wer e reported by the majority of patients, but the relevant bother was signifi cantly different (48.3 and 33.4%, respectively). The ICS-Sex score was sign ificantly associated with all the measures of symptoms and QoL employed in the study (IPSS and ICS-BPH). The urinary symptoms most frequently associat ed with sexual dysfunction were those related to incontinence. Conclusions: The QUIBUS study shows that sexual dysfunctions are commonly complained of by Italian men with LUTS and are significantly associated with urinary sym ptoms, in particular with urine loss. These findings support the recommenda tion by the 5th International Consultation on BPH to better evaluate both s exual function and incontinence symptoms in patients affected by LUTS sugge stive of BPH. Copyright (C) 2001 S. Karger AG, Basel.