Chronic prostatitis: symptom survey with follow-up clinical evaluation☆
Received 6 May 2002; accepted 22 August 2002.
Abstract
Objectives
To determine the prevalence of chronic prostatitis/chronic pelvic pain syndrome (National Institutes of Health Category III prostatitis) in Penang, Malaysia and estimate the proportion of cases ascertained by population survey that met consensus clinical criteria for “chronic prostatitis.”
Methods
One percent of 20 to 50-year-old men in Penang, Malaysia were surveyed using the National Institutes of Health Chronic Prostatitis Symptom Index. A clinical evaluation that included lower urinary tract localization studies was recommended for symptomatic subjects who met the survey definition to identify bacterial prostatitis and other diagnoses that would exclude them from the consensus clinical definition for chronic prostatitis (Category III).
Results
Of 3147 subjects surveyed, 275 (8.7%) met the survey criteria for chronic prostatitis. The prevalence of chronic prostatitis was 8.0% among Malays, 8.9% among non-Malays, and 16% among noncitizens (P = 0.025). The prevalence increased with age: 6.3% in 20 to 30-year-old men, 8.9% in 31 to 40-year-old men, and 12.6% in 41 to 50-year-old men (P <0.001). Of 87 subjects evaluated clinically, 65 (75%) met the consensus clinical criteria for chronic prostatitis.
Conclusions
Chronic prostatitis represents an important, international healthcare problem. A thorough clinical evaluation is necessary to verify that chronic prostatitis is indeed responsible for a patient’s pelvic pain and lower urinary tract symptoms.
aUniversity of Science Malaysia School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Penang, Malaysia
bDepartment of Urology, Lam Wah Ee Hospital, Penang, Malaysia
cDepartment of Urology, Penang Adventist Hospital, Penang, Malaysia
dDepartment of Urology, Gleneagles Medical Centre, Penang, Malaysia
eDepartment of Urology, Penang Hospital, Penang, Malaysia
fDepartment of Urology, Island Hospital Penang, Penang, Malaysia
gDepartment of Urological Surgery, University of Washington School of Medicine, Seattle, Washington, USA
Reprint requests: John N. Krieger, M.D., Department of Urology, University of Washington School of Medicine, 1660 South Columbian Way, Seattle, WA 98108, USA
☆ This study was supported in part by an unrestricted grant from Abbott Laboratories, Malaysia, and the U.S. National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland.
ABSTRACT