Prevalence of lower urinary tract symptoms suggestive of benign prostatic hyperplasia in primary care, Port Harcourt, Nigeria

Abstract

Objectives: The study objectives were to determine the pattern of presentation of Lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS) in the respondents, the prevalence of LUTS suggestive of BPH, and respondents’ quality of life.

Design: A prospective cross-sectional study of 290 probability-sampled subjects, using the International Prostate Symptom Score (IPSS), which also measures quality of life, to determine patients’ symptoms.

Setting and subjects: The study was conducted at the Family Medicine Clinic, University of Port Harcourt Teaching Hospital, Port Harcourt, Nigeria. The subjects were middle-aged and elderly men that presented with LUTS.

Result: The mean age of the subjects was 62.50 ± 11.66 years. The age range was 40-100 years. The majority (39.7%) of the subjects were elderly. Bladder storage symptoms were the most experienced LUTS. The prevalence of LUTS suggestive of BPH was 72.2% using the IPSS, and 60% had an enlarged prostate that was diagnosed through a digital rectal examination. The prevalence of bothersome LUTS was 71.3%.

Conclusion: Different diagnostic methods for LUTS suggestive of BPH provided different prevalence values. The findings need to be interpreted with caution, as hospital-based studies have higher prevalence values than those of population-based studies.