An epidemiological study of patients with chronic prostatitis

OBJECTIVE To assess possible causes, clinical symptoms and improvements in treatment for chronic prostatitis in China. PATIENTS AND METHODS The study comprised 3000 patients with chronic prostatitis (aged 20-59 years), selected from urological clinics at province, city and county levels in Anhui (a province in mid-eastern China). Anonymous questionnaires were distributed which included 29 items to ascertain patient age, height, weight, educational background, personality, career, disease course, treatment status, prostatic fluid test and score of the National Institute of Health Chronic Prostatitis Symptom Index (NIH-CPSI). RESULTS In all, 2498 valid questionnaires were collected (response rate 83.3%); 78.2% of the patients were aged <40 years and there were fewer patients in groups of increasing age. Discomfort and pain in the pelvis was reported by 52.3%, pain on urination by 23.0%, sexual discomfort by 21.8%, urinary frequency by 65.8%, and voiding discomfort by 74.4%; 34.9% of men were satisfied with their previous treatment. CONCLUSION In China there are fewer patients with chronic prostatitis as age increases. The main symptoms were voiding dysfunction, e.g. frequent urination. The prevalence of pain, e.g. on urination, was significantly less than documented in other parts of the world. Most patients had used antibiotics to treat their prostatitis; generally the effect of treating prostatitis was unsatisfactory.