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.