Symptoms suggestive of chronic pelvic pain syndrome in an urban population: prevalence and associations with lower urinary tract symptoms and erectile function.
OBJECTIVE
We determined the prevalence of symptoms suggestive of chronic pelvic pain syndrome in an urban population and assessed associations with lower urinary tract symptoms and erectile dysfunction.


METHODS
Men participating in a voluntary health examination free of charge that was organized by the Department of Preventive Health of the City of Vienna were analyzed. All participants completed 3 validated questionnaires on chronic pelvic pain syndrome (National Institutes of Health-Chronic Prostatitis Symptom Index), lower urinary tract symptoms (International Prostate Symptom Score) and erectile dysfunction (International Index of Erectile Function-5).


RESULTS
A total of 1,765 men with a mean +/- SD age of 46.3 +/- 0.3 years (range 20 to 79) entered this study. The mean National Institutes of Health-Chronic Prostatitis Symptom Index score increased from 4.0 +/- 0.3 in the youngest age group of 20 to 29-year-old men to 6.3 +/- 0.6 in those 70 to 79 years old. The overall prevalence of symptoms suggestive of chronic pelvic pain syndrome, defined by a pain score of 4 or greater and perineal/ejaculatory pain, was 2.7% and it revealed no age dependence, such as the pain score. In contrast, urinary symptom and quality of life scores increased with age. International Index of Erectile Function-5 score was 20.6 +/- 0.3 for men without chronic pelvic pain symptoms vs 18.3 +/- 0.7 for men with mild symptoms and 16.5 +/- 1.1 for men with moderate/severe symptoms. A National Institutes of Health-Chronic Prostatitis Symptom Index score in the upper quartile was associated with 8.3-fold increased odds of erectile dysfunction.


CONCLUSIONS
The prevalence of symptoms suggestive of chronic pelvic pain syndrome in this large cohort of men participating in a health screening project was 2.7% and it revealed no age dependence. Our study suggests that chronic pelvic pain syndrome has a negative impact on erectile function.
Marszalek
Martin
M
Department of Urology, Donauspital, Vienna, Austria.
Wehrberger
Clemens
C
Hochreiter
Werner
W
Temml
Christian
C
Madersbacher
Stephan
S
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D001317:Austria / Q000453:epidemiology; D002908:Chronic Disease; D007172:Erectile Dysfunction / Q000150:complications / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000503:physiopathology; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008403:Mass Screening; D008875:Middle Aged; D010147:Pain Measurement; D017699:Pelvic Pain / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000209:etiology / Q000503:physiopathology; D010410:Penile Erection / Q000502:physiology*; D015995:Prevalence; D011379:Prognosis; D011472:Prostatitis / Q000150:complications / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000503:physiopathology; D011788:Quality of Life; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D013577:Syndrome; D014505:Urban Population; D014555:Urination Disorders / Q000150:complications / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000503:physiopathology