Association between self-perception period of lower urinary tract symptoms and International Prostate Symptom Score: a propensity score matching study

Background: Most studies focusing on progression of BPH have been limited to the relationship between age and BPH progression, and only few studies have focused on the time duration to start treatment. This study aimed to investigate the association between self-perception period (S-PP) of lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS) and International Prostate Symptom Score (IPSS). Methods: This study used data from two large-population surveys: a community-based survey and a university hospital outpatient-based interview survey. Both surveys were conducted in male subjects aged 40 years or older who gave consent to the survey questionnaire and voluntarily expressed their intention to participate. Propensity score matching (PSM) was used to organize the population in both surveys into randomized groups to reduce selection bias. After excluding those who had missing values, 483 subjects were assigned to each group by PSM. Results: The S-PP of LUTS became significantly longer as the severity of LUTS increased. The S-PP was 4.15 years in the mild group, 4.36 years in the moderate group, and 6.23 years in the severe group. These differences were statistically significant. The correlation between S-PP of LUTS and IPSS was measured by partial correlation while controlling for age (correlation coefficient = 0.20, p < 0.001). Multiple regression analysis after controlling for age revealed that one-year increase in the S-PP of LUTS significantly (p < 0.001) increased IPSS by 0.322 points. Conclusions: This study clarified the association between S-PP of LUTS and IPSS in a large-scale population. These findings suggest that, from the perspective of public health, S-PP is an important risk factor for LUTS progression.