The effect of psychological motivation on volumes voided during uroflowmetry in healthy aged male volunteers.

AIMS

To study the effect of psychological motivation on the voided volume during uroflowmetry in aged-male volunteers.

METHODS

An open contest of free-flow rate was held for the elderly community. People over 60 years old with no prior history of lower urinary tract symptoms were invited to compete. Participants were given the suggestion to void only when strong desire was experienced because greater the volume, faster the flow. One month later, 20 of the male participants were asked to come back for an office uroflowmetry, given the instruction to hold until strong desire was experienced. The results of the maximum flow rate, mean flow rate, and voided volume were compared between these two tests.

RESULTS

In the first uroflowmetry, the average voided volume for the 20 participants was 532+/- 109 ml; maximum flow rate and average flow rate were 27.1+/- 9.4, and 17.2+/- 6.4 ml/sec, respectively. The voided volume decreased significantly in the second uroflowmetry (338+/- 82 ml, P<0.01); the maximum and average flow rates did not changed significantly (24.2+/- 9.5 and 14.9+/- 6.9 ml/sec, respectively). No participant had a shift of more than one standard deviation between the two tests on the Siroky's flow-rate nomogram.

CONCLUSIONS

With psychological motivation to win the contest, the participants showed greater tolerance to bladder filling. This suggests that the state of mind can affect the perception on bladder sensation. On the other, the performance on emptying function is not significantly improved by motivation.