Does “Normal” Aging Imply Urinary, Bowel, and Erectile Dysfunction? A General Population Survey
Received 22 June 2007; accepted 23 January 2008. published online 02 April 2008.
Objectives
We assessed if urinary, bowel, and sexual dysfunction and associated bother were part of the “normal” aging process in the general male Dutch population.
Methods
Randomly selected participants of a screening trial were mailed a questionnaire on dysfunction and bother in the urinary, bowel, and sexual domains. A Dutch version of the Expanded Prostate Cancer Index Composite (EPIC) was used.
Results
Three thousand eight hundred ten (3810) men responded (81%), mean age 67 years, range 58 to 78. The prevalence of urinary dysfunction was low, and although the difference between younger versus older men was significant (P <0.001), it did not exceed the minimal important difference. Bowel dysfunction and bother were not related to age. Erectile dysfunction was reported by 19%, ranging from 12% in the youngest to 26% in the oldest group (P <0.001). The overall use of erectile aids was negatively associated with the satisfaction with sex life and positively with the importance attached to it (P <0.001), but not with age or sexual activity.
Conclusions
Urinary and bowel dysfunction were not part of the “normal” aging process. Erectile dysfunction was significantly more prevalent in older men. In men treated for localized prostate cancer, decreasing urinary or bowel function is thus not attributable to age, but may well be related to prior treatment. Decreasing erectile function, however, may be attributable to other causes as wellt. These data provide a benchmark for urologic functioning in men after treatment relative to age-related patterns, and will enable better interpretation of treatment outcomes.
aDepartment of Public Health, Erasmus MC, University Medical Center Rotterdam, Rotterdam, the Netherlands
bDepartment of Urology, Erasmus MC, University Medical Center Rotterdam, Rotterdam, the Netherlands
Reprint requests: Ida J. Korfage, Ph.D., Department of Public Health, Erasmus MC, University Medical Center Rotterdam, PO Box 2040, 3000 CA Rotterdam, the Netherlands.
Funding for the study was provided by the Dutch Cancer Society (EUR 2000-2329) and the Netherlands Organization for Health Research and Development ‘ZonMw' (2000-2-1016).
ABSTRACT