Abstract
BackgroundLower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS) are common among men worldwide and despite frequently of benign origin, the symptoms often influence quality of life. Most men experiencing LUTS manage their symptoms in private settings without consulting their general practitioner (GP). Therefore, the purpose of this study was to identify who in the personal and professional relations Danish men discussed their bothersome LUTS with, to analyse factors associated with discussing LUTS with personal and professional relations, and to analyse how having a social network influenced healthcare seeking.MethodsA nationwide population-based, cross-sectional survey representative of the Danish population. A total of 46,647 randomly selected men aged 20+ were invited to participate. Data were collected in 2012. The main outcome measures were odds ratios between involvement of personal and professional relations, GP contact and different characteristics (age, number of symptoms, available social network, and involvement of personal relations) among men experiencing bothersome LUTS. We used multivariate logistic regression models.ResultsOverall, 22,297 men completed the questionnaire. Of those, 4885 (21.9%) had experienced at least one LUTS, 23.5% had not discussed their symptoms with either personal nor professional relations and 59.1% had not discussed their LUTS with any professional relation. The symptoms were most often discussed with personal relations, primarily the spouse/partner who was involved in more than half of the cases. Odds of consulting the GP, another doctor and other healthcare professionals were two to four-fold higher when the symptoms were discussed with a personal relation. Having an available social network was significantly associated with lower odds of consulting the GP regarding frequent urination.ConclusionsDespite the high prevalence of bothersome LUTS more than one-fifth of men did not discuss their symptoms with either personal nor professional relations, and more than half did not discuss the symptoms with any professional relations. Discussing the symptoms with personal relations was generally associated with higher odds of seeking professional help, and for frequent urination, having an available social network was associated with lower odds of consulting the GP. The results may be useful for detecting and treating men bothered by LUTS.
Highlights
Lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS) are common among men worldwide and despite frequently of benign origin, the symptoms often influence quality of life
Lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS) are common among men worldwide and despite often being of benign origin, they are associated with decreased quality of life [1]
When analysing healthcare seeking regarding symptoms in general, we have previously found that people without an available social network overall were more likely to involve the general practitioner (GP) compared to those with an available social network [14]
Summary
Lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS) are common among men worldwide and despite frequently of benign origin, the symptoms often influence quality of life. Lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS) are common among men worldwide and despite often being of benign origin, they are associated with decreased quality of life [1]. LUTS include various urological symptoms and can be classified into three subgroups; storage, voiding and post micturition symptoms [6]. These symptoms are often perceived as a normal part of ageing which might prevent individuals from consulting their general practitioner (GP) [7, 8]. The majority of causes are benign and not life-threatening but distressing with the potential of causing psychological effects and exacerbating feelings of social isolation [7]
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