Abstract
We investigated the perception of nocturia and possible explanatory factors for medical consultation among community-dwelling women. Between October 2004 and February 2005, women aged ≥40 years living in Matsu, Taiwan, who were identified as having nocturia in a previous epidemiological survey, were interviewed with a questionnaire eliciting information about nocturia-specific quality of life impact (N-QOL), perceptions of nocturia, and medical-consultation behavior. A total of 328 women completed this study. Of these, 187 (57%), 99 (30.2%), 30 (9.1%), and 12 (3.7%) reported one, two, three, and four or more nocturia episodes, respectively, per night during the past 4 weeks. Most women attributed nocturia to aging or excessive fluid intake and had a lack of medical information. Overall, only 13.1% had visited a doctor for this condition. Nocturia episodes [≥three vs <three, odds ratio (OR) 3.8], N-QOL score (OR 2.0, per 10-point decrement), linking nocturia to a disease (OR 2.9), and medical information (OR 2.2) were independent factors associated with medical-consultation, whereas the lack of knowledge that nocturia was treatable appeared to be an important barrier to medical-consultation. Only 62.8% of the women were offered treatment upon consultation, even though nearly half of those treated reported significant improvement. A few women with nocturia have sought medical help, which appears to be affected by a compendium of factors. This study suggests that more information about nocturia should be provided to health providers and patients to identify and meet their most essential needs.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Van Kerrebroeck P, Abrams P, Chaikin D, Donovan J, Fonda D, Jackson S, Jennum P, Johnson T, Lose GR, Mattiasson A, Robertson GL, Weiss J; International Continence Society (2002) The standardization of terminology in nocturia: report from the standardization subcommittee of the International Continence Society. BJU Int 3:11–15
Lundgren R (2004) Nocturia: a new perspective on an old symptom. Scand J Urol Nephrol 38:112–116 (review, 57 references)
Weiss JP, Blaivas JG (2000) Nocturia. J Urol 163:5–12
Yu HJ, Chen TH, Chie WC, Liu CY, Tung TH, Huang SW (2005) Prevalence and associated factors of nocturia among adult residents of the Matsu area of Taiwan. J Formos Med Assoc 104:444–447
Schatzl G, Temml C, Schmidbauer J, Dolezal B, Haidinger G, Madersbacher S (2000) Cross-sectional study of nocturia in both sexes: analysis of a voluntary health screening project. Urology 56:71–75
Lose G, Alling-Moller L, Jennum P (2001) Nocturia in women. Am J Obstet Gynecol 185:514–521
Yu HJ, Chen FY, Huang PC, Chen TSH, Chie WC, Liu CY (2006) Impacts of nocturia on symptom specific quality of life among community-dwelling adults aged 40 years and older. Urology 67:713–718
Abraham L, Hareendran A, Mills IW, Martin ML, Abrams P, Drake MJ, MacDonagh RP, Noble JG (2004) Development and validation of a quality-of-life measure for men with nocturia. Urology 63:481–486
Dugan E, Roberts CP, Cohen SJ, Preisser JS, Davis CC, Bland DR, Albertson E (2001) Why older community-dwelling adults do not discuss urinary incontinence with their primary care physicians. J Am Geriatr Soc 49:462–465
Tseng IJ, Chen YT, Chen MT, Kou HY, Tseng SF (2000) Prevalence of urinary incontinence and intention to seek treatment in the elderly. J Formos Med Assoc 99:753–758
Shaw C, Tansey R, Jackson C, Hyde C, Allan R (2001) Barriers to help seeking in people with urinary symptoms. Fam Pract 18:48–52
Wolters R, Wensing M, van Weel C, van der Wilt GJ, Grol RP (2002) Lower urinary tract symptoms: social influence is more important than symptoms in seeking medical care. BJU Int 90:655–661
Asplund R (1999) Mortality in the elderly in relation to nocturnal micturition. BJU Int 84:297–301
Harrison GL, Memel DS (1994) Urinary incontinence in women: its prevalence and its management in a health promotion clinic. Br J Gen Pract 44:149–152
Shaw C (2001) A review of the psychosocial predictors of helping-seeking behaviour and impact on quality of life in people with urinary incontinence. J Clin Nurs 10:15–24
Lose G, Lalos O, Freeman RM, van Kerrebroeck P; Nocturia Study Group (2003) Efficacy of desmopressin (Minirin) in the treatment of nocturia: a double-blind placebo-controlled study in women. Am J Obstet Gynecol 189:1106–1113
Johnson TM, Burgio KL, Redden DT, Wright KC, Goode PS (2005) Effects of behavioral and drug therapy on nocturia in older incontinent women. J Am Geriatr Soc 53:846–850
Kinchen KS, Burgio K, Diokno AC, Fultz NH, Bump R, Obenchain R (2003) Factors associated with women’s decisions to seek treatment for urinary incontinence. J Womens Health 12:687–698
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Additional information
Brief summary: We investigated the perception of nocturia and medical consultation behavior in a community-dwelling female cohort of individuals that underwent a survey for nocturia.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Chen, FY., Dai, YT., Liu, CK. et al. Perception of nocturia and medical consulting behavior among community-dwelling women. Int Urogynecol J 18, 431–436 (2007). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00192-006-0167-x
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00192-006-0167-x