Urinary symptoms: prevalence and severity in British men aged 55 and over.

OBJECTIVE To measure the prevalence and severity of urinary symptoms among men aged 55 and over in the British population. DESIGN Cross sectional population survey using a postal questionnaire. SETTING North West Thames health region. SUBJECTS 1480 men aged 55 years and over randomly selected from 8 general practices. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES Self reported frequency and severity of urinary symptoms, their bothersomeness and previous prostate surgery. RESULTS The response rate among eligible subjects was 78%. The prevalence of moderate and severe symptoms was 204 per 1000, rising from 160 per 1000 in the 55-59 age group to 259 per 1000 in the 70-74 age group and declining after the age of 80 to 119 per thousand in the 85+ age group. Twelve per cent of men reported previous prostate surgery, and the probability of having had surgery increases steadily with age. About a third of those undergoing surgery have recurrence or persistence of symptoms after surgery. Of men with moderate and severe symptoms, 27.9% reported that their symptoms were a medium or big problem, 36.9% reported that their symptoms interfered with their daily activities at least some of the time, and 43.1% were unhappy or 'felt terrible' about the prospect of a future with their current symptoms. CONCLUSION The prevalence of urinary symptoms in men is lower than previously reported, although there is a substantial number of men who are bothered by, or who find their lives adversely effected by them.