Alcohol is longitudinally associated with lower urinary tract symptoms partially via high-density lipoprotein

Lower urinary tract symptoms in patients with inflammatory bowel diseases: A cross-sectional observational study

BACKGROUND

Inflammatory Bowel Diseases (IBD), Crohn's Disease (CD), and Ulcerative Colitis (UC) may have extraintestinal manifestations, including disorders of the urinary tract. The prevalence of lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS) in IBD patients remains unclear.

AIMS

Assess the prevalence of LUTS in patients with CD or UC, evaluate the variables implicated in any difference in LUTS prevalence between CD or UC, and assess any relationship between disease activity and LUTS METHODS: LUTS were evaluated in 301 IBD patients through standardised questionnaires: Bristol Female Lower Urinary Tract Symptoms (BFLUTS), NIH-Chronic Prostatitis Symptom Index (NIH-CPSI), and International Prostate Symptom Score (IPSS). IBD activity was determined through the Crohn's Disease Activity Index (CDAI), Partial Mayo Score (PMS), and Total Mayo Score (TMS).

RESULTS

BFLUTS total score for females was 6 (3-11). Patients with a higher age at diagnosis had worse filling symptoms (p = 0.049) and a worse quality of life (p = 0.005). In males, 67.1% had mild, 28.5% moderate, and 4.4% severe IPSS symptom grades. The overall NIHCPSI prevalence of chronic prostatitis-like symptoms was 26.8%. The questionnaires revealed some significant differences in the subgroups analysed.

CONCLUSION

LUTS should be evaluated in IBD patients by urologic-validated questionnaires for prompt diagnosis and early treatment.

Drinking Frequency but not Years may be Associated with Lower Urinary Tract Symptoms: Result from a Large Cross-Sectional Survey in Chinese Men

Objective

To evaluate the effect of the drinking frequency and years on lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS) in a large Chinese male population.

Methods

The current data were obtained from a consecutive series of 3,229 men aged 18–79 who participated in a routine physical examination in Fangchenggang First People’s Hospital, Guangxi, China. During a face-to-face interview, the detailed demographic variables about alcohol consumption, potential confounding factors were collected. LUTS were assessed by International Prostate Symptom Score (IPSS) and defined as total LUTS, irritative (IRR) and obstructive (OBS) symptoms, respectively. Multivariate logistic regression analysis was used to evaluate the risk of total LUTS, IRR and OBS symptoms affected by alcohol consumption.

Results

The prevalence of moderate to severe LUTS was 8.3% and apparently increased with age (P<0.001). A significant distribution presented in age, alcohol consumption, BMI, cigarette smoking, education attainment and hypertension among different strata of LUTS severity (P<0.05). Men who drank 1–2 times per week were less likely to have OBS symptoms (OR=0.45, 95%CI=0.29–0.70) regardless of age (OR=0.52, 95%CI=0.33–0.82) or multivariate adjusted (OR=0.52, 95%CI=0.33–0.83). Nevertheless, we did not observe a significant negative or positive association presented between drinking years and the risk of total LUTS, OBS and IRR symptoms.

Conclusion

The current results imply that moderate drinking frequency may be protective against LUTS, and drinking years did not relate to worsening or improving LUTS.

Preventing Lethal Prostate Cancer with Diet, Supplements, and Rx: Heart Healthy Continues to Be Prostate Healthy and "First Do No Harm" Part I

PURPOSE OF REVIEW

To discuss the overall and latest observations of the effect of diet, lifestyle, supplements, and some prescription heart healthy medications for prostate cancer prevention.

RECENT FINDINGS

The concept of maximizing heart health to prevent aggressive prostate cancer continues to be solidified with the addition of more prospective observational and randomized controlled trial data. Heart healthy is prostate healthy, but heart unhealthy is prostate unhealthy. The primary goal of reducing the risk of all-cause and cardiovascular disease (CVD) morbidity and mortality also allows for maximizing prostate cancer prevention. The obesity epidemic in children and adults along with recent diverse research has only strengthened the nexus between heart and prostate health. Greater dietary adherence toward a variety of healthy foods is associated with a graded improved probability of CVD and potentially aggressive cancer risk reduction. Preventing prostate cancer via dietary supplements should encourage a "first do no harm", or less is more approach until future evidence can reverse the concerning trend that more supplementation has resulted in either no impact or an increased risk of prostate cancer. Supplements to reduce side effects of some cancer treatments appear to have more encouraging data. Medications that improve heart health including statins, aspirin, and metformin (S.A.M.), and specific beta-blocker medications are primarily generic or low-cost and should continue to garner research interest. A watershed moment in medical education has arrived where the past perception of a diverse number of trees seemingly separated by vast distances, in reality, now appear to exist within the same forest.

Severity of Lower Urinary Tract Symptoms among Middle Aged and Elderly Nigerian Men: Impact on Quality of Life

Objectives. To compare the severity of LUTS among middle aged and elderly Nigerian men and determine the influence of LUTS severity on QoL. Methods. This cross-sectional study was conducted among new patients presenting with LUTS attending Urology clinic between 2011 and 2015. Assessment of symptoms was based on IPSS and bother score completed by the eligible subjects on the same day of their clinic visits. Results. Four hundred patients were studied comprising 229 middle aged and 171 elderly men. Interquartile range (IQR) of IPSS scores for men <65 years and those ≥65 years was 14.0 (16.0) and 19 (15.0), respectively (p < 0.001). Mild LUTS was significantly associated with best, good, and poor quality of life while moderate LUTS was associated with poor QoL. Severe LUTS was significantly associated with all the categories of QoL (Best-Worst). Among the cohort of subjects with poor QoL, elderly patients had a significantly higher median IPSS score (p < 0.05). Conclusions. There is no level of severity of LUTS in which patients' QoL is not impaired although mild symptomatology may be associated with better QoL and severe symptomatology with poor QoL. Careful attention to QoL may help identify patients who require early and prompt treatment irrespective of the IPSS.