Association of depression/anxiety with lower urinary tract symptoms and erectile dysfunction in Chinese men aged from 22 to 50 years.

Objective: To examine the relationships among lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS), erectile dysfunction (ED) and mental health in Chinese men aged from 22 to 50.

Methods: The subjects were 907 men aged between 22 and 50 years. The symptoms of mental distress were evaluated by the Zung Self-rating Depression Scale questionnaires and Zung Self-rating Anxiety Scale questionnaires. The symptoms of chronic prostatitis/chronic pelvic pain syndrome (CPPS), LUTS and ED were assessed by the US National Institutes of Health Chronic Prostatitis Symptom Index (NIH-CPSI), the International Prostate Symptom Score (IPSS) and the International Index of Erectile Function 5 (IIEF-5) score.

Results: In the study, 894 subjects had their complete data. Their mean NIH-CPSI score was higher for the men with depression and anxiety than for those without (6.2±6.2 vs. 5.0±5.8, P=0.015; 8.7±8.1 vs. 4.7± 5.3, P<0.001), with the mean IPSS score (5.9±6.6 vs. 4.7±5.8, P=0.029; 8.4±8.0 vs. 4.4±5.5, P<0.001). The mean IIEF-5 score was lower for the men with depression and anxiety than for those without (18.3±4.4 vs. 20.2±3.5; 17.2±4.1 vs. 20.1±3.6, both P<0.001). The proportion of total ED was higher for the men with depression and anxiety than for those without (69.7% vs. 57.8%, P=0.002; 81.1% vs. 57.0%, P<0.001).

Conclusion: Our study reveals associations among depression, anxiety, and CPPS, LUTS and ED in Chinese men aged 50 years and younger.