title: Correlation between risk factors for vascular disease and the American Urological Association Symptom Score.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To evaluate the correlation between risk factors for vascular disease and the American Urological Association Symptom Score (AUA-SS), by comparing the presence of these risk factors with the degree of lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS).
  
  
  METHODS
  We retrospectively reviewed the medical history, AUA-SS, and prostate volume of men who had a radical prostatectomy. The degree of LUTS in men with and without risk factors for cardiovascular disease was compared.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The mean AUA-SS was 7.2 for the entire cohort, 5.6 in men with no risk factors, and 7.9 in men with at least one risk factor (P < 0.05). In men with one to four risk factors, the mean AUA-SS was 6.9, 7.9, 10.7, and 19.5, respectively. There was no correlation between the AUA-SS and prostate size in the entire cohort or among any groups.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Men with risk factors for vascular disease are more likely to have a higher AUA-SS than men without these risk factors. These findings suggest the possibility of an association between vascular disease and the development and severity of LUTS in men.
authors.affiliation: Department of Urology, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA. gibbonsep@upmc.edu
authors.forename: Erin P
authors.initials: EP
authors.lastname: Gibbons
authors.forename: John
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Colen
authors.forename: Joel B
authors.initials: JB
authors.lastname: Nelson
authors.forename: Ronald M
authors.initials: RM
authors.lastname: Benoit
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D015331:Cohort Studies; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011468:Prostatectomy; D011470:Prostatic Hyperplasia / Q000601:surgery; D053448:Prostatism / Q000150:complications*; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012307:Risk Factors; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D014652:Vascular Diseases / Q000150:complications*