Impact of nocturia on symptom-specific quality of life among community-dwelling adults aged 40 years and older

Objectives. To evaluate factors predicting the effect of nocturia in a community-based cohort of adults using a nocturia-specific quality-of-life (N-QOL) questionnaire. Methods. From October 2004 to February 2005, adults aged 40 years old or older living in Matsu, Taiwan and reporting nocturia of one episode or more per night were interviewed with a 12-item N-QOL questionnaire consisting of Sleep/Energy and Bother/Concern subscales. Univariate analyses were used to analyze the effects of demographic characteristics, frequency and duration of nocturia, and sleeping characteristics on the N-QOL- score. Multiple linear regression analysis was used to identify factors predicting the N-QOL score. Results. A total of 663 adults completed this study (mean age 59.4 years). The average N-QOL scores (a lower score indicates worse QOL) were 91.4 +/- 1 1.2, 83.7 +/- 13.2, 77.6 +/- 16.8, and 67.6 +/- 21.2 for nocturia episodes of 1, 2, 3, and 4 or more per night, respectively (P < 0.001). Men reported significantly lower N-QOL (85.6 +/- 15.1 versus 88.9 +/- 13.1, P = 0.003) and Bother/Concern subscale scores (42.0 +/- 8.4 versus 44.0 +/- 7.4, P < 0.001), but not Energy/Sleep subscale scores (43.6 +/- 7.8 versus 44.4 +/- 7.3, P = 0.158) than women. On multiple linear regression analysis, increasing nocturia episodes (regression coefficient -6.2, 95% confidence interval -7.4 to -5.0), male sex (regression coefficient -3.5, 95% confidence interval -5.4 to -1.5), and degree of sleeping disturbance after nocturia (regression coefficient -4.5, 95% confidence interval -5.6 to -3.4) independently predicted a significantly lower N-QOL score. Conclusions. The results of our study have confirmed that nocturia has a more significant OOL impact when the patient has two or more episodes per night. Moreover, men experienced a greater impact from nocturia than women, particularly in the Bother/Concern domain.