Lower urinary tract symptoms and related help‐seeking behaviour in South Asian men living in the UK

Abstract

estimate the relative risk of symptoms between groups. Data from 7810 men were included in the analysis. RESULTSIn all, 409 (5.3%) of the population sample described themselves as Asian; 36.5% of these men described at least one significant LUTS, vs 29.0% of white men. The overall prevalence rates for all storage symptoms were significantly higher in Asian men. Straining to void was the only voiding symptom to show a difference in prevalence between the groups. However, when controlling for age, Asian men were at greater risk for all symptoms except a weak urinary stream. Reported levels of bother and felt need were the same in both population groups, but actual help-seeking was significantly less in the Asian group. Only 25.0% of Asian men had actively sought help, compared to 53.1% of white men. CONCLUSIONSouth Asian men in the UK have a higher risk of experiencing LUTS than white men from the same population. This increase in risk is greatest for storage symptoms. Although levels of bother are the same, South Asian men are less likely to seek help for their symptoms.

Help‐seeking behaviour for urinary incontinence: experience from a university community

“…It was consistent with the published studies regarding the high prevalence of UI and low help-seeking rates for UI (Homma et al, 2006;Koch, 2006;Adedokun et al, 2012;Altintas et al, 2013) though this study only enrolled the participants who were quite highly educated as compared to prior reports that showed that low education was one of barriers associated with help-seeking care for urinary incontinence (Adedokun et al, 2012). Comparing this to the previous reports, the proportion of help-seeking behaviour for UI in this study was comparable to the results in other Asian and African countries ranging from 12·9% to 80% (Yu et al, 2003;Margalith et al, 2004;Homma et al, 2006;Taylor et al, 2006;El-Azab and Shaaban 2010;Adedokun et al, 2012) whereas the European and the US studies were higher ranging from 31% to 48% (Kinchen et al, 2003;O'Donnell et al, 2005;Sykes et al, 2005). It is developing countries in Europe such as Turkey, however, that showed similar rates (18·5%) of searching for medical help by themselves as in other developing countries in Asia and Africa (Altintas et al, 2013).…”

“…Although patients with UI can experience numerous unfavourable outcomes, prior reports showed that many patients with UI did not discuss their problems with healthcare providers. The proportion of help-seeking care for UI is less than 50%; its prevalence was varied from 12% to 48%, depending on different studied settings (Kinchen et al, 2003;Yu et al, 2003;Margalith et al, 2004;O'Donnell et al, 2005;Sykes et al, 2005;Homma et al, 2006;Taylor et al, 2006;Cetinel et al, 2007;El-Azab and Shaaban, 2010;Adedokun et al, 2012). Predictors of help-seeking care among persons with bothersome UI showed common factors and different factors in existing reports.…”

The overlap of storage, voiding and postmicturition symptoms and implications for treatment seeking in the USA, UK and Sweden: EpiLUTS

“…Much of this difference could be attributed to sampling differences between the studies. The increase of LUTS with advancing age has been well established [1,2,26,[35][36][37][38][39][40], and the sample in EPIC was aged ≥ 18 years, whereas EpiLUTS recruited men and women aged ≥ 40 years. Differences in the questions asked and methods used, particularly mode of administration (i.e.…”

What determines whether a patient with LUTS seeks treatment?: ICI‐RS 2011

“…Cross‐sectional population‐based studies confirm that symptom‐specific bother relates to treatment seeking even after controlling for differences in age, race, overall number of visits to a healthcare provider, number of comorbid conditions, body‐mass index, and country 41. Race and ethnicity, which appear to play a role both in terms of LUTS bother18, 54 and treatment seeking for LUTS/incontinence17, 21, 55 need further investigation in terms of biomedical and sociocultural aspects they possibly involve. As multiracial and multicultural societies are developing worldwide, more studies are needed to explore the effect of race/ethic background on decision making for healthcare seeking.…”

“…A great variability exists in the reported rates of treatment seeking in men and women with LUTS; between 9.2% and 53.1% of men and 8.2% and 50% of women with LUTS have sought medical advice for their symptoms 13–15. This may also reflect the variability in the reported prevalence of LUTS: 28–41% of men reported the presence of moderate‐to‐severe LUTS in various studies, as opposed to 13–37.4% of women 14–19. Significantly fewer studies have investigated treatment seeking for LUTS in women than in men.…”