Lower urinary tract symptoms in 1,912 apparently healthy persons of both sexes.

We aimed to evaluate lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS) in apparently healthy persons of both sexes using the International Prostate Symptom Score (IPSS) and quality of life index (IPSS-QI) as related to aging. A total of 1,912 apparently healthy participants (1,052 women and 860 men) were enrolled in this study. They were informed as to the nature of the study and asked to fill out the IPSS questionnaires. The mean age of women was 46.8 years (range 18.0 to 83.0) and that of men was 48.5 years (range 19.0 to 76.0). The storage and voiding symptom scores gradually increased in parallel with increasing age in both sexes. The proportion of participants with moderate to severe symptoms (IPSS 8 or greater) increased from 5.6% in women younger than 30 years to 8.9, 15.7, 20.8, 21.0% and 28.6% for women 30 to 39, 40 to 49, 50 to 59, 60 to 69 and 70 years or older, respectively; the corresponding distribution for men was from 8.8 to 15.9, 18.7, 38.1, 48.6 and 68.8%, respectively. In both sexes, the majority of persons showed 1 or less nocturia. The distribution of IPSS-QI was very similar within each category of the IPSS severity in both sexes, showing that LUTS was equally bothersome to both sexes. These data should be taken into account to evaluate LUTS in both sexes.