Prevalence and risk factors of lower urinary tract symptoms in Fuzhou Chinese women.

AIMS: To evaluate the prevalence and associated risk factors of lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS).

METHODS

We randomly sampled 6066 women (3.0% of registered female residents aged 20 years and older in Fuzhou) and mailed Bristol Female Lower Urinary Tract Symptoms questionnaire to women for self-completion. 4684 (77.2%) women with evaluable data were included in this study.

RESULTS

The prevalence of LUTS, voiding symptoms, storage symptoms was 39.7%, 13.4%, 37.3%, respectively. Among voiding symptoms, the prevalence of hesitancy, slow stream, intermittence, straining, terminal dribble, splitting was 6.8%, 5.5%, 4.8%, 4.5%, 4.1%, 3.5%, respectively. Among storage symptoms, stress incontinence, urge incontinence, urgency, frequency, nocturia, enuresis was 16.6%, 10.0%, 10.2%, 16.4%, 9.9%, 3.9%, respectively. A multiple logistic regression analysis showed menopause, parity > 2, constipation, fetal birthweight, and episiotomy were common potential risk factors for LUTS, voiding and storage symptoms. Higher BMI increased the occurrence of LUTS and storage symptoms, while cesarean delivery and labor protected against the development of storage symptoms.

CONCLUSIONS

The prevalence of LUTS in Chinese women is lower than that of most reports in Occidental women. The prevalence of LUTS increases with age.