Impact of nocturia on symptom-specific quality of life among community-dwelling adults aged 40 years and older (original) (raw)

Objectives. To evaluate factors predicting the effect of nocturia in a community-based cohort of adults using a nocturia-specific quality-of-life (N-QOL) questionnaire. Methods. From October 2004 to February 2005, adults aged 40 years old or older living in Matsu, Taiwan and reporting nocturia of one episode or more per night were interviewed with a 12-item N-QOL questionnaire consisting of Sleep/Energy and Bother/Concern subscales. Univariate analyses were used to analyze the effects of demographic characteristics, frequency and duration of nocturia, and sleeping characteristics on the N-QOL score. Multiple linear regression analysis was used to identify factors predicting the N-QOL score. Results. A total of 663 adults completed this study (mean age 59.4 years). The average N-QOL scores (a lower score indicates worse QOL) were 91.4 Ϯ 11.2, 83.7 Ϯ 13.2, 77.6 Ϯ 16.8, and 67.6 Ϯ 21.2 for nocturia episodes of 1, 2, 3, and 4 or more per night, respectively (P Ͻ0.001). Men reported significantly lower N-QOL (85.6 Ϯ 15.1 versus 88.9 Ϯ 13.1, P ϭ 0.003) and Bother/Concern subscale scores (42.0 Ϯ 8.4 versus 44.0 Ϯ 7.4, P Ͻ0.001), but not Energy/Sleep subscale scores (43.6 Ϯ 7.8 versus 44.4 Ϯ 7.3, P ϭ 0.158) than women. On multiple linear regression analysis, increasing nocturia episodes (regression coefficient Ϫ6.2, 95% confidence interval Ϫ7.4 to Ϫ5.0), male sex (regression coefficient Ϫ3.5, 95% confidence interval Ϫ5.4 to Ϫ1.5), and degree of sleeping disturbance after nocturia (regression coefficient Ϫ4.5, 95% confidence interval Ϫ5.6 to Ϫ3.4) independently predicted a significantly lower N-QOL score. Conclusions. The results of our study have confirmed that nocturia has a more significant QOL impact when the patient has two or more episodes per night. Moreover, men experienced a greater impact from nocturia than women, particularly in the Bother/Concern domain. UROLOGY 67: 713-718, 2006.