Diabetes prevalence among older people receiving care at home: associations with symptoms, health status and psychological well-being.

AIMS: To determine the prevalence of diabetes among older people receiving care at home, and to explore differences in sociodemographic and clinical characteristics, symptoms, health status, quality of life and psychological well-being between diabetes categories defined as HbA1c ≥ 48 mmol/mol (6.5%) and/or self-report. METHODS: A community-based sample of 377 people receiving care at home in Western Norway participated in a cross-sectional survey. Instruments included the MMSE-NR, Symptom Check-List, WHO Quality of Life-BREF (WHOQOL-BREF, global items), EuroQol EQ-5D-5L/EQ-5D-VAS and WHO-Five Well-Being Index (WHO-5). Participants were grouped into four categories: no diabetes, self-report only, HbA1c ≥ 48 mmol/mol (6.5%) and self-report, and HbA1c ≥ 48 mmol/mol (6.5%) only. RESULTS: Median age (IQR) was 86 (81-91) years and 34% of the sample were men. We identified 92 people (24%) with diabetes. Diabetes was more prevalent in men than women (34% vs. 20%, age-adjusted P = 0.005). Among people with diabetes, 14% were unaware of their diagnosis. There were significant differences in symptoms between the diabetes categories, with more symptoms (abnormal thirst, polyuria, genital itching, nausea, excessive hunger, perspiring, cold hands/feet, daytime sleepiness) among the groups with elevated HbA1c . Significant differences in WHO-5, WHOQOL-BREF and EQ-5D-5L between diabetes categories were identified, with the poorest scores in the group with undiagnosed diabetes. CONCLUSIONS: A high percentage of people with diabetes receiving care at home are unaware of their diagnosis. Diabetes deserves increased case-finding efforts and allocation of resources towards those receiving care at home to alleviate symptoms and the burden of inadequate diabetes care.

How important are men's lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS) and their impact on the quality of life (QOL)?

PURPOSE: To investigate the extent to which symptom severity and related factors contribute to the explained variance of the quality of life (QOL) of men with lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS) suggestive of benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH). METHODS: Data from 480 men awaiting urological assessment were collected by questionnaires shortly after referral by their general practitioners in 1997-2000. The World Health Organization's QOL questionnaire (WHOQOL-bref), International Prostate Symptom Score (I-PSS), Symptom Problem Index (SPI), International Continence Society Benign Prostatic Hyperplasia questionnaire (ICS-BPH), the Sandvik Incontinence Severity Index, and BPH Specific Impact on Activity (BSIA) were used. RESULTS: Regression analyses with WHOQOL-bref scores as dependent variables (physical, psychological, social relations, environmental domains, as well as overall QOL and general health) showed that symptom severity predicted only physical health. The severity of urinary incontinence was predictive of all domains except general health. Sexual function was predictive of all domains. Regression coefficients were close to zero. The explained variance of WHOQOL-bref scores was low (5-17%). CONCLUSIONS: The WHOQOL-bref might be too comprehensive to identify associations between specific symptom-related factors. Alternatively, our results indicate that LUTS suggestive of BPH and LUTS-associated factors are not very important determinants of QOL.

Diversity of urinary symptoms in patients tentatively diagnosed with benign prostatic hyperplasia referred to a urologic clinic in Norway.

OBJECTIVE: Lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS) has become the preferred term used to classify the urinary symptoms of elderly men. This term places more emphasis on clinical appearance rather than being restricted to the functional pathophysiology. The objective of this study was to investigate this new concept in a group of patients who had been tentatively diagnosed with benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH). The range of urinary symptoms, incontinence, sexual function and impact on daily living were registered. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Data from a group of 480 men awaiting urologic assessment were collected by questionnaire shortly after referral from their general practitioner between 1997 and 2000. The questionnaires used were the International Prostate Symptom Score (IPSS), the Symptom Problem Index, the International Continence Society-BPH, the Sandvik Incontinence Severity Index and the BPH-specific Interference with Activities. RESULTS: The mean age of the subjects was 67.0 years. As assessed by the IPSS, 15%, 54% and 31% of the men had mild, moderate and severe symptoms, respectively. Men who gave positive answers to questions regarding the frequency, amount and type of leakage were considered to have urinary incontinence (UI), which was found in 37% of cases. The majority of men had mild or moderate UI. Influence on daily living varied with the severity of symptoms. However, no significant differences in influence on daily living were found between groups with different degrees of severity of incontinence as all groups reported a relatively high impact. CONCLUSIONS: Our results show that UI is fairly common, very bothersome and socially embarrassing in male LUTS patients waiting for urologic evaluation. Although UI is not typically associated with BPH and is not regarded as a crucial component of LUTS, this study indicates that more emphasis should be placed on UI in the terminology of LUTS. UI may also act as an indicator of a need for healthcare.

Use and misuse of the concept of quality of life in evaluating surgical treatments for lower urinary tract symptoms.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate how quality of life (QoL) components measured by given instruments direct the QoL perspective in treatment studies of lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS) and benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH). METHODS: Computer searches were conducted in Medline, CINAHL and Psychinfo; MeSH terms covering QoL and surgical treatments for BPH and LUTS were combined for the search. The analysis was based on a framework linking components of QoL to patient outcome. RESULTS: Of the 74 papers meeting the inclusion criteria, 48 were published in 1997-2001, showing the increase of interest of the topic. Most of the papers reported the change in QoL by a one-item scale, whilst only a few reported results from several of the components in the QoL concept. Some papers regarded the change in general health status or parts of health status as changes in QoL. Functional status and symptoms, and the bother of symptoms, were often regarded as indicators of a change in QoL. CONCLUSION: These analyses show an increasing interest in measuring QoL after surgery for LUTS and BPH. In most of the studies analysed, the batteries of instruments selected were too narrow in scope to study the complexity of QoL. Most papers are based on instruments sensitive to change, but the reports do not distinguish the basic assumptions for understanding relationships important in QoL research and as a result, the reason for change is open to question.

Healthcare personnel's attitudes towards patients with urinary incontinence.

The aim of the study was to understand the variability of Norwegian staff's attitudes towards patients with urinary incontinence across years and place of work, age and education levels. The Incontinence Stress Questionnaire-Staff Reaction (Norwegian version) (ISQ-SR-N) was used to measure staff's reactions and feelings towards patients with urinary incontinence. A cross-sectional survey design was used to gather self-reported data. The research sites were five nursing homes, three home care districts and medical and surgical wards at a university hospital. Of the 745 staff invited, 535 (72%) returned the questionnaire. Staff members working in long-term care units were older than staff members working in acute care units. Most of the registered nurses worked in acute care, whilst most of the nursing assistants worked in long-term care. Stepwise regression analysis identified education, working in a medical/surgical units, and the interaction of education and working in a medical unit to be most predictive of attitudes. Nursing assistants had more positive attitudes than registered nurses. Working in medical/surgical units predicted the most negative attitudes. Only 15.2% of the variability of attitudes can be explained by the predictive variables.

A Norwegian version of the Incontinence Stress Questionnaire-Staff Reaction: translation and validation for cross-cultural use.

The aim of the present study was to translate and validate the Incontinence Stress Questionnaire--Staff Reaction (ISQ-SR) for cross-cultural adaptation to Norway. The ISQ-SR is a 30-item questionnaire developed in the U.S.A. by Dr. Lucy C. Yu. The questionnaire examines the experience of nursing home staff when working with patients with urinary incontinence. This article describes both the translation and testing procedure. Statistical analyses were carried out in the following steps of the testing procedure: (a) bivariate examination, (b) principal components factor analysis, (c) determination of internal consistency, (d) frequency analysis, and (e) estimation of test-retest reliability. Finally, the translated and tested questionnaire was compared with the original version. The Norwegian version consists of three factors with a total of 24 items, and is shown to be a valid and reliable version of the ISQ-SR. We conclude that we have achieved equivalence with the original version.