Depression strongly linked to lower urinary tract symptoms in men

Australia: The close link between lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS) and depression suggests that there are common risk factors that cannot be assigned entirely to the prostate. This has direct ramifications for future research as well as the evaluation and treatment of people suffering from either illness, says an article published in the journal Neurourology and Urodynamics. 

Men's LUTS and depression have a bidirectional relationship, according to new data from observational studies. Sean A. Martin and colleagues wanted to see if the presence of LUTS had an influence on depressive symptoms in adult men when compared to those who did not have LUTS, and vice versa.

Before March 2021, papers in English were searched in electronic databases (MEDLINE, PsycINFO, SCOPUS, Embase). Men over the age of 18 were eligible for inclusion in observational studies that reported a link between LUTS and depression and included a validated scale for LUTS and depressive symptoms.

The results of this study stated as follow:

1. Seventeen studies found 163 466 men with reported depression symptoms based on their LUTS status, whereas ten studies found 72 363 men with LUTS based on their depression symptoms.

2. With a significant degree of heterogeneity across the included studies (I2 = 83%; 2 = 0,06), pooled estimates revealed a considerable influence of LUTS presence on depression risk (OR: 2.89).

3. Differences were seen in subgroup analyses by study location (Q value:13.7, df:4), setting (7.8(2)), design (7.2(1)), quality (6.2(1)), and LUTS measure (40.9(3)).

4. The presence of depression was also shown to have a considerable influence on the risk of LUTS in men (OR: 3.13, 95% CI: 2.72–3.60), with only moderate heterogeneity between studies (I2 = 58%; 2 = 0,02).

In conclusion, overall, there was a substantial link between LUTS and depression, indicating that there are common risk factors that cannot be assigned entirely to the prostate. This has direct ramifications for future research as well as the evaluation and treatment of people suffering from either illness.

Reference:

Martin, SA, Tully, PJ, Kahokehr, AA, Jay, A, Wittert, GA. The bidirectional association between depression and lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS) in men: a systematic review and meta-analysis of observational studies. Neurourol Urodyn. 2022; 1- 10. doi:10.1002/nau.24868