title: Prevalence and impact on quality of life of lower urinary tract symptoms among a sample of employed women in Taipei: a questionnaire survey.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Previous studies about the prevalence and impact of lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS) were focused on urinary incontinence or overactive bladder in the general population. Little research has been focused on the role that the workplace has in employed women's experiences with LUTS or the impact of LUTS on their health-related quality of life (HRQL).
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  To estimate the prevalence of LUTS among employed female nurses in Taipei and to compare the HRQL for nurses with and without LUTS.
  
  
  METHODS
  This study was a cross-sectional, questionnaire survey.
  
  
  METHODS
  Three medical centers and five regional hospitals in Taipei were selected randomly.
  
  
  METHODS
  In the selected hospitals, 1065 female nurses were selected randomly. Data analyses were based on 907 usable surveys. All participants were native Taiwanese; most of the female nurses were 26-35 years of age (mean=31.02, SD=6.32), had normal body mass index, and had never given birth. Most nurses' bladder habits were poor or very poor and their personal habits of fluid consumption at work were inadequate.
  
  
  METHODS
  Data were collected using the Taiwan Nurse Bladder Survey and the Short Form 36 Taiwan version. Chi-square tests were used to compare the prevalence rates of different LUTS for nurses in different age groups. Student's t-tests were conducted to compare the mean scores of HRQL for nurses with and without LUTS.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Based on 907 usable surveys, 590 (65.0%) experienced at least one type of LUTS. The prevalence for different LUTS ranged from 8.0% to 46.5%. Nurses who reported LUTS also reported lower HRQL, more so on physical health than mental health, than nurses who did not report LUTS.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Although most of the nurses in this study were young (< or =35 years) and nulliparous, LUTS were common among this group. The high prevalence rate of LUTS leads to concerns about nurses' possible dysfunctional voiding patterns and possible effects of working environment and poor bladder and personal habits on LUTS. Study results showed a possible negative impact of LUTS on nurses' physical health. Designing a continence-related education program for this group is essential for delivering information about LUTS prevention and management.
authors.affiliation: College of Nursing, Taipei Medical University, 250 Wu-Xin Street, Taipei 110, Taiwan.
authors.forename: Yuan-Mei
authors.initials: YM
authors.lastname: Liao
authors.forename: Chyn-Yng
authors.initials: CY
authors.lastname: Yang
authors.forename: Ching-Chiu
authors.initials: CC
authors.lastname: Kao
authors.forename: Molly C
authors.initials: MC
authors.lastname: Dougherty
authors.forename: Yeur-Hur
authors.initials: YH
authors.lastname: Lai
authors.forename: Yuanmay
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Chang
authors.forename: Hsiao-Lien
authors.initials: HL
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.forename: Lu-I
authors.initials: LI
authors.lastname: Chang
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D004651:Employment; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D015995:Prevalence; D011788:Quality of Life; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D013624:Taiwan / Q000453:epidemiology; D014552:Urinary Tract Infections / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000503:physiopathology