Correlation between risk factors for vascular disease and the American Urological Association Symptom Score

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the correlation between risk factors for vascular disease and the American Urological Association Symptom Score (AUA-SS), by comparing the presence of these risk factors with the degree of lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS). PATIENTS AND METHODS: We retrospectively reviewed the medical history, AUA-SS, and prostate volume of men who had a radical prostatectomy. The degree of LUTS in men with and without risk factors for cardiovascular disease was compared. RESULTS: The mean AUA-SS was 7.2 for the entire cohort, 5.6 in men with no risk factors, and 7.9 in men with at least one risk factor (P < 0.05). In men with one to four risk factors, the mean AUA-SS was 6.9, 7.9, 10.7, and 19.5, respectively. There was no correlation between the AUA-SS and prostate size in the entire cohort or among any groups. CONCLUSIONS: Men with risk factors for vascular disease are more likely to have a higher AUA-SS than men without these risk factors. These findings suggest the possibility of an association between vascular disease and the development and severity of LUTS in men.