To operationalize a new definition for bladder health, we examined the distribution and impact of lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS), along with risk factors, among men in the Coronary Artery Risk Development in Young Adults (CARDIA) study.
LUTS were defined by American Urologic Association Symptom Index (AUASI) scores and impact on quality of life (QoL). Separate questions assessed urinary incontinence (UI) and postvoid dribbling. We performed cluster analyses using AUASI scores, with and without urine incontinence and postvoid dribbling, and impact collected in 2010-11. We performed analyses to evaluate sociodemographic and cardiovascular risk factors between clusters.
Among CARDIA men (mean age: 50.0, SD = 3.6; range: 42-56 years) with complete LUTS data (n = 929), we identified and compared four clusters: men who reported no or very mild symptoms and no impact on well-being (bladder health, n = 696, 75%), men with moderate symptoms and moderate impact on well-being (moderate symptoms/impact, n = 84, 9%), men with high symptoms and high impact on well-being (severe symptoms/impact, n = 117, 13%), and a separate group that reported moderate symptoms and UI with a high impact on well-being (UI + moderate symptoms/severe impact, n = 32, 3%). Exploration of the groupings showed a large percentage of postvoid dribbling across groups (overall 69%). Sociodemographic and cardiovascular risk factors were not associated with symptom/impact groups.
Bladder health clustered into four categories. A majority of middle-aged men in the community showed no or mild bladder symptoms without impact on QoL. Postvoid dribbling is pervasive but did not cluster with a specific LUTS or impact category.
Neurourology and urodynamics. 2024 Feb 26 [Epub ahead of print]
Alayne D Markland, Gerhard Hellemann, Liang Shan, Sonya S Brady, Jared D Huling, Pamela J Schreiner, Stephen Sidney, Stephen K Van Den Eeden, Cora E Lewis
Department of Veterans Affairs, Birmingham/Atlanta Geriatric Research, Education, and Clinical Center (GRECC), Birmingham, Alabama, USA., School of Public Health, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, Alabama, USA., School of Nursing, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, Alabama, USA., School of Public Health, Division of Epidemiology & Community Health, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA., Division of Research, Kaiser Permanente Northern California, Oakland, California, USA.