Overall, men with LUTS showed remarkably poor knowledge about their symptoms
WEDNESDAY, July 1, 2015 (HealthDay News) — For men with lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS), reasons for seeking medical care include wanting reassurance about not having prostate cancer and the nuisance of symptoms, according to a study published online June 24 in the Journal of Evaluation in Clinical Practice.
Huub A. Lammers, M.D., from the Radboud University Medical Center in the Netherlands, and colleagues conducted a qualitative study with semi-structured interviews among 18 men aged over 50 years who had consulted their general practitioner because of LUTS. Interviews were transcribed, coded, and analyzed.
The researchers found that the reasons for seeking help could be categorized into three themes: desire for reassurance about not having prostate cancer; nuisance of symptoms such as nocturia; and as a result of public information about LUTS. Most participants did not understand the cause or prognosis of their symptoms.
“The main reasons to seek primary medical care are the need for reassurance and the nuisance of symptoms, especially [nocturia],” the authors write. “Overall, the patients show remarkably poor knowledge about their symptoms.”
The study was funded by the Dutch insurance company Agis Zorgverzekeringen.
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