Urinary, bowel and sexual health in older men from Northern Ireland

David W. Donnelly*, Conan Donnelly, Therese Kearney, David Weller, Linda Sharp, Amy Downing, Sarah Wilding, Penny Wright, Paul Kind, James W.F. Catto, William R. Cross, Malcolm D. Mason, Eilis McCaughan, Richard Wagland, Eila Watson, Rebecca Mottram, Majorie Allen, Hugh Butcher, Luke Hounsome, Peter SelbyDyfed Huws, David H. Brewster, Emma McNair, Carol Rivas, Johana Nayoan, Mike Horton, Lauren Matheson, Adam W. Glaser, Anna Gavin

*Corresponding author for this work

    Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

    19 Citations (Scopus)

    Abstract

    Objectives: To provide data on the prevalence of urinary, bowel and sexual dysfunction in Northern Ireland (NI), to act as a baseline for studies of prostate cancer outcomes and to aid service provision within the general population. Subjects and Methods: A cross-sectional postal survey of 10 000 men aged ≥40 years in NI was conducted and age-matched to the distribution of men living with prostate cancer. The EuroQoL five Dimensions five Levels (EQ-5D-5L) and 26-item Expanded Prostate Cancer Composite (EPIC-26) instruments were used to enable comparisons with prostate cancer outcome studies. Whilst representative of the prostate cancer survivor population, the age-distribution of the sample differs from the general population, thus data were generalised to the NI population by excluding those aged 40–59 years and applying survey weights. Results are presented as proportions reporting problems along with mean composite scores, with differences by respondent characteristics assessed using chi-squared tests, analysis of variance, and multivariable log-linear regression. Results: Amongst men aged ≥60 years, 32.8% reported sexual dysfunction, 9.3% urinary dysfunction, and 6.5% bowel dysfunction. In all, 38.1% reported at least one problem and 2.1% all three. Worse outcome was associated with increasing number of long-term conditions, low physical activity, and higher body mass index (BMI). Urinary incontinence, urinary irritation/obstruction, and sexual dysfunction increased with age; whilst urinary incontinence, bowel, and sexual dysfunction were more common among the unemployed. Conclusion: These data provide an insight into sensitive issues seldom reported by elderly men, which result in poor general health, but could be addressed given adequate service provision. The relationship between these problems, raised BMI and low physical activity offers the prospect of additional health gain by addressing public health issues such as obesity. The results provide essential contemporary population data against which outcomes for those living with prostate cancer can be compared. They will facilitate greater understanding of the true impact of specific treatments such as surgical interventions, pelvic radiation or androgen-deprivation therapy.

    Original languageEnglish
    Pages (from-to)845-857
    Number of pages13
    JournalBJU International
    Volume122
    Issue number5
    DOIs
    Publication statusPublished - Nov 2018

    Bibliographical note

    Publisher Copyright:
    © 2018 The Authors BJU International published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of BJU International

    Keywords

    • Life After Prostate Cancer Diagnosis
    • bowel dysfunction
    • health-related quality of life
    • prostate cancer
    • sexual dysfunction
    • urinary dysfunction

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