Prevalence of Lower Urinary Tract Symptoms and Their Associations with Health Outcomes among Older Nursing Home Residents: A Cross-sectional Study

Abstract

Lower urinary tract symptoms are a common health problem in older adults, but there is limited information on their prevalence and consequences among older residents of nursing homes in the Thai context. This cross-sectional study aimed to examine the prevalence of lower urinary tract symptoms and their associations with health outcomes (sleep quality and fatigue) among older residents in private nursing homes. The participants were older adults residing in nine private nursing homes in a province in central Thailand. With purposive sampling according to the inclusion criteria, 120 participants were recruited for the study. The data collection was conducted through structured interviews with questionnaires, including the Personal Data, the International Prostate Symptom Score, the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index, and the Multidimensional Assessment of Fatigue. Descriptive statistics and multiple logistic regression were utilized for data analysis. Findings revealed that the prevalence of lower urinary tract symptoms was 96.7%. Most participants had poor sleep quality, while half had severe fatigue when the fatigue score was transformed into a z-score. Participants suffering from moderate to severe symptoms in the lower urinary tract were 3.35 times more likely to develop poor sleep quality than those with mild symptoms and 2.61 times more likely to develop severe fatigue than those with mild symptoms. This study highlights the associations between lower urinary tract symptoms and health outcomes. The knowledge gained from this study serves as a basis for helping healthcare professionals, particularly those working in nursing homes, to become more aware of the severity of lower urinary tract symptoms and establish tailored interventions to reduce fatigue and promote sleep quality, which could maximize the quality of life in this population.