Health status and its correlates among Dutch community-dwelling older men with and without lower urogenital tract dysfunction.
OBJECTIVE
To study health status and its correlates in older men with and without lower urogenital tract dysfunction.


METHODS
Cross-sectional population-based study on 1688 men aged 50-78 years without bladder or prostate cancer, radical prostatectomy, neurogenic bladder dysfunction or a negative advice from their general practitioner. Data were collected through self-administered questionnaires, including Sickness Impact Profile (SIP, three domains), Inventory of Subjective Health (ISH), International Prostate Symptom Score (IPSS) and International Continence Society (ICS) Male Sex questionnaire, medication use, socio-economic and lifestyle factors. Additional information was collected by measurement of blood pressure, transrectal ultrasonography of the prostate and uroflowmetry. Four health status domains were analyzed using the ISH and three domains of the SIP. Lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS) were categorised using IPSS, erectile and ejaculatory dysfunction were defined using the ICS questionnaire.


RESULTS
All urogenital characteristics and parameters were related to at least two of the health status domains. Multivariate regression analyses yielded that LUTS and cardiac symptoms were associated with suboptimal scores of all four domains. Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and drugs for abdominal symptoms were related to three domains; erectile and ejaculatory dysfunction, muskuloskeletal or psycho(ana)leptic drugs and marital status to two domains.


CONCLUSIONS
The impact of LUTS on health status was equally important as the impact of cardiac symptoms. The impact of sexual dysfunction was smaller than expected. Longitudinal studies are needed to determine how health status and illnesses interact.
Blanker
Marco H
MH
Department of General Practice, Room Ff 323, Erasmus University Rotterdam, P.O. Box 1738, 3000 DR, Rotterdam, The Netherlands. blanker@hag.fgg.eur.nl
Driessen
Loes F C
LF
Bosch
J L H Ruud
JL
Bohnen
Arthur M
AM
Thomas
Siep
S
Prins
Ad
A
Bernsen
Roos M D
RM
Groeneveld
Frans P M J
FP
D000368:Aged; D015897:Comorbidity; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D006304:Health Status; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D052801:Male Urogenital Diseases / Q000453:epidemiology; D008875:Middle Aged; D015999:Multivariate Analysis; D009426:Netherlands / Q000453:epidemiology; D012044:Regression Analysis; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires