Lower urinary tract symptoms and related factors in female university students.

Objectives: Our study aims to determine the symptoms and frequency of lower urinary tract in female university students and its related factors.

Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted between January and June 2017. To determine their sociodemographic characteristics and toilet habits, the Bristol Female Lower Urinary Tract Symptoms questionnaire, a 21-item questionnaire, was applied to female university students accepting to participate in the study using the face-to-face interview method.

Results: The study was completed with 1091 individuals. The mean age of the participants was 20.27±1.69 years. The question "Do you feel a sudden urination sensation and run to the toilet?" was answered by 1.1% (n: 12) of the participants with "Always," while 34.8% (n: 380) replied "Never." In terms of feeling a sudden urination sensation, 0.5% (n: 6) of the participants stated that they "always" experience micturition, while 15.0% (n: 164) answered with "Seldom." The complaint of being unable to empty their bladder completely while urinating was higher in students with constipation problems (P .04) and a body mass index (BMI) > 24.9 (P .02).

Conclusions: Lower urinary tract complaints are a common problem. We believe that routine medical screening should be performed for female university students whose living conditions change when they start university; besides, we suggest that well-attended and repeatable training programs for healthy living behaviors, urinary habits, and hygiene should be organized for university students.