Longitudinal changes in lower urinary tract symptoms among a cohort of black American men: the Flint Men's Health Study.

OBJECTIVES

To examine the progression of lower urinary tract symptoms in a longitudinal population-based cohort of black men. Population-based studies of prostatism and longitudinal data regarding changes in lower urinary tract symptom severity have largely focused on white men, with little attention directed toward black men.

METHODS

In 1996, a probability sample of 369 black men, aged 40 to 79 years, residing in Genesee County, Michigan, and without a prior history of prostate cancer/surgery participated in a prostate cancer screening protocol that included completing the American Urological Association Symptom Index (AUASI). Four years after baseline, 175 of the 369 men agreed to participate in the follow-up protocol. Of the 175 men, 149 had not reported undergoing treatment for benign prostatic hyperplasia and had complete symptom data. These men were included in this study. Differences between baseline and follow-up AUASI scores were examined.

RESULTS

The mean and standard deviation AUASI scores at baseline and follow-up were 7.1 (6.4) and 7.0 (6.8), respectively. Although overall no statistically significant change was found in the mean AUASI during the 4 years of follow-up (-0.11; SD 6.2; P = 0.7), the average change in the symptom score and the variability in the change increased with patient age at baseline from a mean of -0.42 (SD 5.0) among men in their 40s to 2.1 (SD 6.6) among men in their 70s. Of the 91 men (61.1%) who reported mild to no symptoms (AUASI score 7 or less) at baseline, 24 (26.4%) reported moderate to severe symptoms (AUASI score 8 or more) at follow-up. This progression of symptom severity was observed across all ages.

CONCLUSIONS

In this population-based study of longitudinal changes in urinary symptoms in black men, we found a substantial percentage of men demonstrated a measurable progression in urinary symptom severity over time. Additional studies are needed to examine critically any racial differences in lower urinary tract symptom progression.