Urinary Symptoms Linked to Metabolic Syndrome in Men

Even mild symptoms associated with significantly increased odds of metabolic syndrome

23 june 2009-- In men, there is a significant association between lower urinary tract symptoms and metabolic syndrome, according to a study published online June 18 in the Journal of Urology.

Varant Kupelian, Ph.D., of the New England Research Institutes in Watertown, Mass., and colleagues used the American Urological Association symptom index and a modification of the Adult Treatment Panel III guidelines to assess 1,899 men.

Compared to men with symptom index scores of zero to one, the researchers found that those with scores of two to 35 were significantly more likely to have metabolic syndrome (multivariate odds ratio, 1.68). They also observed a significant association between metabolic syndrome and a voiding symptom score of five or higher (multivariate adjusted odds ratio, 1.73), and even mild symptoms such as incomplete emptying, intermittency and nocturia.

"Further research is needed to understand the common pathophysiology of lower urinary tract symptoms and metabolic syndrome, especially longitudinal studies to determine a temporal sequence and investigation of this association in women as a relationship between chronic illnesses and lower urinary tract symptoms has been reported previously in men and women," the authors conclude. "Additional studies are needed to explore the treatment impact and correlation of comorbid conditions and symptoms associated with the individual components of metabolic syndrome."

This study was supported by Pfizer Inc.; two authors reported financial relationships with Pfizer.

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