Prevalence and characteristics of lower urinary tract symptoms in men aged > or = 80 years.

Objectives: We analyzed the prevalence and characteristics of lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS) in community-dwelling men aged 80 years and older.

Methods: We administered the American Urological Association Symptom Index (AUA-SI) by mail to 291 surviving community-dwelling male participants in the Rancho Bernardo Study, a prospective, community-based study of aging. We compared the prevalence, severity, and types of LUTS occurring in men who were > or = 80 years to those < 80 years.

Results: The mean age was 74.6 years (standard deviation [SD] 8.9, range 48.3-97.1). One third of the respondents were > or = 80 years. The mean total AUA-SI score increased steadily by decade of life (P-trend = .002). The prevalence of LUTS was 70% in men > or = 80 years and 56% in men < 80 years (P = .03). Men > or = 80 years had significantly higher mean total AUA-SI (P = .05) and were more likely to complain of incomplete emptying (odds ratio [OR] 2.12, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.06-4.18, P = .02), frequency (OR 1.83, 95% CI 1.00-3.31, P = .03), urgency (OR 1.76, 95% CI 0.96-3.20, P = .05), and weak stream (OR 1.78, 95% CI 1.01-3.12, P = .03).

Conclusions: In this cohort of community-dwelling men, prevalence and severity of LUTS increased into the 10th decade of life. Compared to younger men, men > or = 80 years were more likely to complain of incomplete emptying, frequency, urgency, and weak stream. Further studies of LUTS in older men are needed to better delineate these associations.