title: Is There Any Relation Between the Degree of Fatty Liver Disease and Severity of Lower Urinary Tract Symptoms?
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To evaluate the association between the degree of fatty liver disease and severity of lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS) in healthy middle-aged males.
  
  
  METHODS
  A total of 1943 Korean men aged between 40 and 70 years who had participated in the voluntary health checkup program from January 2012 to December 2014 were enrolled. LUTS were evaluated with the International Prostate Symptom Score (IPSS) questionnaire. Abdominal ultrasonography was performed to assess nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). Trend test was performed to investigate the association between the degree of fatty liver disease and LUTS severity. Differences between the two groups were analyzed by chi-square test, and we adjusted for confounding factors with analysis of covariance and logistic regression test.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The mean age was 51.79 ± 7.03 years, and 1026 (52.8%) subjects were determined to have NAFLD. Differences in categorical variables, between NAFLD grades and IPSS grades, were analyzed by Trend test, and no significant difference was observed (Pearson chi-square, P  =  .155; likelihood ratio, P  =  .151; linear-by-linear association, P  =  .527). After adjustment for age, body mass index, metabolic syndrome, C-reactive protein, prostate-specific antigen, prostate volume with analysis of covariance, and multiple logistic regression test, no significant associations were found between IPSS and NAFLD.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  No significant associations were found between NAFLD and LUTS in middle-aged men, and the degree of NAFLD was not significantly associated with the severity of LUTS in trend. The role of NAFLD, in comparison with age, might be too small to change the LUTS.
authors.affiliation: Department of Family Medicine, Soonchunhyang University Hospital, Soonchunhyang University College of Medicine, Seoul, South Korea.
authors.forename: Yun Ah
authors.initials: YA
authors.lastname: Song
authors.affiliation: Department of Mathematics, College of Nature Sciences, Ajou University, Suwon, South Korea.
authors.forename: Soon-Sun
authors.initials: SS
authors.lastname: Kwon
authors.affiliation: Department of Urology, Soonchunhyang University Hospital, Soonchunhyang University College of Medicine, Seoul, South Korea.
authors.forename: Seung Whan
authors.initials: SW
authors.lastname: Doo
authors.affiliation: Department of Urology, Soonchunhyang University Hospital, Soonchunhyang University College of Medicine, Seoul, South Korea. Electronic address: piacekjh@hanmail.net.
authors.forename: Jae Heon
authors.initials: JH
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.affiliation: Department of Urology, Soonchunhyang University Hospital, Soonchunhyang University College of Medicine, Seoul, South Korea.
authors.forename: Won Jae
authors.initials: WJ
authors.lastname: Yang
authors.affiliation: Department of Urology, Soonchunhyang University Hospital, Soonchunhyang University College of Medicine, Seoul, South Korea.
authors.forename: Yun Seob
authors.initials: YS
authors.lastname: Song
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D006801:Humans; D059411:Lower Urinary Tract Symptoms / Q000150:complications*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D065626:Non-alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease / Q000150:complications*; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012720:Severity of Illness Index