Symptomatic benign prostate hyperplasia: impact on partners' quality of life.
OBJECTIVE
Symptomatic benign prostate hyperplasia (BPH), besides affecting patients' quality of life through lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS), and related acute events, may affect their partners' quality of life as well. The present study was focused on exploring partner morbidity in cases of symptomatic BPH patients being evaluated for surgical treatment.


METHODS
The study group was comprised of 50 couples where male partners suffered from symptomatic BPH and was referred for further evaluation and, possibly, surgical treatment. Male subjects were asked to fill out the IPSS form, while the female partners were, separately, asked to fill out another structured questionnaire about 7 items (sleep disturbance, social disruption, performance of essential tasks, psychological impact, sex life, fear of cancer, fear of surgery). Data were analyzed in relation to the severity of symptoms (IPSS), patient's and partner's age, couple's age difference, marriage duration, mode and place of living.


RESULTS
Partners' morbidity due to their husband's condition was comprised of sleep disturbance (28%); disruption of social life (30%) positively related to IPSS and negatively to the symptom duration; inability to take care of essential tasks outside and inside their house (8%); psychological burden (66%) positively related to the wife's age, the couple's age difference and the marriage duration; inadequate sex life (48%); fear of prostate cancer (62%); and fear of surgery (82%).


CONCLUSIONS
Partners of patients with symptomatic BPH experience significant morbidity because of their husband's condition. The severity of patients' symptoms, however, is not always related to partners' morbidity. Partners should be adequately informed of the benign nature of the disease, as well as, the possible operating risks.
Department of Urology, University of Athens Medical School, 75, Mikras Asias Street, 115 27 Athens, Greece. dmp@otenet.gr
Dionisios
D
Mitropoulos
Ioannis
I
Anastasiou
Constantina
C
Giannopoulou
Panagiotis
P
Nikolopoulos
Christos
C
Alamanis
Anastasios
A
Zervas
Constantine
C
Dimopoulos
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009017:Morbidity; D011470:Prostatic Hyperplasia / Q000523:psychology*; D011788:Quality of Life; D012747:Sexual Partners / Q000523:psychology*; D012893:Sleep Wake Disorders / Q000209:etiology; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires