title: A population-based survey of lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS) and symptom-specific bother: results from the Brazilian LUTS epidemiology study (BLUES).
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To examine the prevalence of lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS) and the bother they impose in a population-based sample of adults in Brazil.
  
  
  METHODS
  A cross-sectional population-based survey was conducted between September 2006 and January 2007 in the city of Salvador, Brazil. Cluster samples of representative households were randomly selected for interviews. A structured questionnaire was administered to men and women aged 30 years or older by trained interviewers. Participants were asked about the presence of individual LUTS using current International Continence Society (ICS) definitions and rated their symptom bother. Those with overactive bladder (OAB) also responded the OAB-Validated 8 and the Patient Perception of Bladder Condition questionnaires.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Of 3,616 eligible subjects, 3,000 (83%) participated (1,500 men and 1,500 women). OAB was present in 5.1% of men and in 10% of the women, while the prevalence of any LUTS was 81.5 and 84.1%, respectively. The majority of subjects with OAB, 80% of men and 78% of women, reported some bother associated with their urgency symptoms. Overall, storage symptoms were more common than voiding or postmicturition symptoms. Women reported storage symptoms (76.4%) more frequently than men (67.7%), while the opposite was true for voiding (men 39.7%, women 33.7%) and postmicturition (men 30.9%, women 12.8%).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  This is the largest population-based survey of LUTS in Brazil, using the 2002 ICS definitions. LUTS prevalence was high and increased with age among both genders in Brazil, whereas the rates of OAB were somewhat lower than previously reported. The high prevalence of urinary symptoms and the bother commonly associated with them highlight their importance to overall well-being.
authors.affiliation: Centro de Pesquisa Clínica, Associação Obras Sociais Irmã Dulce, Salvador, BA, Brazil, edson@bahia.fiocruz.br.
authors.forename: Edson D
authors.initials: ED
authors.lastname: Moreira
authors.forename: Raimundo C S
authors.initials: RC
authors.lastname: Neves
authors.forename: Antônio Fernandes
authors.initials: AF
authors.lastname: Neto
authors.forename: Fernanda G
authors.initials: FG
authors.lastname: Duarte
authors.forename: Teresinha L
authors.initials: TL
authors.lastname: Moreira
authors.forename: Carlos F L
authors.initials: CF
authors.lastname: Lobo
authors.forename: Dale B
authors.initials: DB
authors.lastname: Glasser
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D001938:Brazil / Q000453:epidemiology; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D006306:Health Surveys; D006801:Humans; D059411:Lower Urinary Tract Symptoms / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000523:psychology*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D015995:Prevalence; D011788:Quality of Life / Q000523:psychology*; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D053201:Urinary Bladder, Overactive / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000523:psychology