Lower urinary tract symptoms

The term lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS) refers to problems related to storage, voiding and post-micturition.

In the majority of cases, men experiencing LUTS have benign prostate enlargement (benign prostatic hyperplasia), which results in bladder outflow obstruction.¹ Other causes of LUTS are urinary tract infection (UTI), malignancy, neurological disorders, prostatitis and detrusor muscle weakness or overactivity.¹ The symptoms may be a significant cause of morbidity. There may be an underlying malignancy.

The prevalence of LUTS increases with age, and it affects about one third of men over the age of 65.¹ It is also estimated that up to one third of men aged over 50 have moderate to severe LUTS.² Furthermore, as a man ages the severity of LUTS increases.