RESUMO
BACKGROUND: The epidemiology of lower urinary tract symptoms in adult men in Nigeria is presently not well known. AIM: To evaluate a screened population of men for lower urinary tract symptoms and their impact on the participants' quality of life. METHODS: A cohort study was conducted among men aged 40 years and older from 3 selected centres in Ibadan, Southwestern Nigeria. The presence of lower urinary tract symptoms and their impact was determined using the International Prostate Symptom Score (IPSS) administered via standardized questionnaires. RESULTS: Six hundred and fifty-five men participated in the study. The median age was 56 years with a range of 40 - 92 years. Eight percent (8%) of respondents were asymptomatic, whilst 66%, 20% and 6% had mild, moderate and severe symptoms respectively. Nocturia was the most common symptom and the second most troublesome. Overall storage (irritative) symptoms occurred with the similar frequency to voiding (obstructive) symptoms (91% v 92%), but voiding symptoms were more likely to be severe and thus more troublesome (p = <0.000.1). The severity of the individual symptoms as well as the overall score also increased significantly with age [p = 0.001]. There was a high correlation between IPSS and Quality of Life (QoL) scores (correlation coefficient 'r' = 0.75 [p = <0.0001]. Despite this, 72% of QoL respondents were satisfied with their quality of life. CONCLUSION: The frequency of non-troublesome lower urinary tract symptoms was high in adult men in this cohort of men in Southwestern Nigeria and that severity was age-related. In addition, whilst storage and voiding symptoms occurred with similar frequency, voiding symptoms were the more severe and troublesome.