Table 2. Prevalence for 21 urinary symptoms among the prostate cancer survivors treated with external beam radiation therapy (EBRT), EBRT+brachytherapy or salvage EBRT and the non-pelvic-irradiated control men.
| Treatment group | EBRT | EBRT+BT | POSTOP | CONTROL | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Symptom |
n/N
(%) PR (95% CI) |
n/N
(%) PR (95% CI) |
n/N
(%) PR (95% CI) |
n/N
(%) PR (95% CI) |
P-value |
| 1. Needs to bear down or push to initiate urination on half or more of the occasions |
26/298 (9) 1.0 (0.6–1.7) |
37/367 (10) 1.1 (0.7–1.9) |
10/196 (5) 0.6 (0.3–1.2) |
21/238 (9) Reference |
0.249 |
| 2. Needs to wait long for urinary flow when feeling the urge to pass urine on half or more of the occasions |
23/297 (8) 0.8 (0.5–1.4) |
29/369 (8) 0.8 (0.5–1.4) |
5/196 (3) 0.3 (0.1–0.7) |
23/238 (10) Reference |
0.032 |
| 3. Sudden involuntary stops when urinating on half or more of the occasions |
26/297 (9) 1.9 (1.0a–3.8) |
27/369 (7) 1.6 (0.8–3.2) |
2/196 (1) 0.2 (0.0–1.0a) |
11/239 (5) Reference |
0.002 |
| 4. Feels that it takes a long time to urinate on half or more of the occasions |
54/297 (18) 1.6 (1.0b–2.4) |
68/369 (18) 1.6 (1.0b–2.4) |
20/196 (10) 0.9 (0.5–1.5) |
28/239 (12) Reference |
0.012 |
| 5. Sensation of bladder being non-empty after urinating on half or more of the occasions |
62/297 (21) 1.4 (1.0a–2.1) |
81/368 (22) 1.5 (1.1–2.2) |
28/196 (14) 1.0 (0.6–1.6) |
35/241 (15) Reference |
0.031 |
| 6. Needs to bear down or push to empty bladder when being at the end of urinating on half or more of the occasions |
53/297 (18) 1.0 (0.7–1.5) |
74/367 (20) 1.2 (0.8–1.7) |
34/195 (17) 1.0 (0.7–1.5) |
41/241 (17) Reference |
0.741 |
| 7. Difficulties in feeling urge to urinate weekly or more often |
12/296 (4) 2.0 (0.7–5.5) |
12/369 (3) 1.6 (0.6–4.4) |
8/196 (4) 2.0 (0.7–5.9) |
5/242 (2) Reference |
0.569 |
| 8. Weak urinary flow when urinating on half or more of the occasions |
96/297 (32) 1.2 (0.9–1.6) |
115/368 (31) 1.2 (0.9–1.5) |
36/196 (18) 0.7 (0.5–1.0a) |
64/242 (26) Reference |
0.003 |
| 9. Needs to urinate more than once nightly |
118/297 (40) 1.8 (1.4–2.3) |
130/367 (35) 1.6 (1.2–2.1) |
40/196 (20) 0.9 (0.6–1.3) |
54/242 (22) Reference |
<0.001 |
| 10. Urinary urgency demanding to quickly get to a toilet more than once weekly |
116/297 (39) 1.3 (1.0b–1.7) |
155/369 (42) 1.4 (1.1–1.8) |
74/197 (38) 1.3 (1.0a–1.6) |
72/241 (30) Reference |
0.024 |
| 11. Cannot wait more than 10 min when feeling urinary urgency |
101/202 (50) 1.2 (0.9–1.4) |
135/271 (50) 1.1 (0.9–1.4) |
67/132 (51) 1.2 (0.9–1.5) |
66/152 (43) Reference |
0.534 |
| 12. Needs to urinate >10 times per day |
21/298 (7) 1.9 (0.9–4.0) |
31/366 (8) 2.3 (1.1–4.7) |
11/197 (6) 1.5 (0.6–3.5) |
9/241 (4) Reference |
0.124 |
| 13. Needs to urinate within 2 h after having urinated on half or more of the occasions |
61/296 (21) 1.6 (1.0b–2.3) |
92/368 (25) 1.9 (1.3–2.7) |
37/197 (19) 1.4 (0.9–2.2) |
32/241 (13) Reference |
0.005 |
| 14. Pain over the bladder when urinating on half or more of the occasions |
5/297 (2) 1.4 (0.3–5.6) |
13/368 (4) 2.8 (0.8–9.9) |
3/197 (2) 1.2 (0.3–6.0) |
3/242 (1) Reference |
0.178 |
| 15. Urethral pain when urinating on half or more of the occasions |
10/298 (3) 1.4 (0.5–3.7) |
23/368 (6) 2.5 (1.0b–6.1) |
8/197 (4) 1.6 (0.6–4.6) |
6/242 (2) Reference |
0.108 |
| 16. Weekly urinary leakage, more than a few drops |
68/298 (23) 2.0 (1.3–3.0) |
67/368 (18) 1.6 (1.0b–2.4) |
66/196 (34) 2.9 (2.0–4.3) |
28/242 (12) Reference |
<0.001 |
| 17. Urgency when leaking urine on half or more than half of the occasions |
41/120 (34) 1.5 (0.9–2.5) |
47/132 (36) 1.5 (0.9–2.5) |
26/112 (23) 1.0 (0.6–1.8) |
15/65 (23) Reference |
0.075 |
| 18. Weekly leakage of urine when not getting to a toilet in time |
50/297 (17) 2.1 (1.3–3.5) |
57/366 (16) 2.0 (1.2–3.2) |
36/194 (19) 2.4 (1.4–4.0) |
19/241 (8) Reference |
0.006 |
| 19. Weekly leakage of urine when coughing, sneezing or laughing |
11/291 (4) 4.6 (1.0b–20.4) |
12/354 (3) 4.1 (0.9–18.1) |
41/194 (21) 25.5 (6.2–104.0) |
2/241 (1) Reference |
<0.001 |
| 20. Weekly leakage of urine associated with physical exercise |
15/295 (5) 3.1 (1.0b–9.1) |
16/370 (4) 2.6 (0.9–7.7) |
55/194 (28) 17.1 (6.3–46.3) |
4/241 (2) Reference |
<0.001 |
| 21. Leakage of more than a few drops of urine when having urinary leakage | 59/282 (21) 2.0 (1.3–3.1) | 74/356 (21) 2.0 (1.3–3.0) | 59/184 (32) 3.1 (2.0–4.7) | 25/240 (10) Reference | <0.001 |
Prevalence ratios for the treated groups with respect to controls.
Abbreviations: EBRT=external beam radiation therapy; BT=brachytherapy; POSTOP=salvage radiation therapy after surgical prostatectomy; PR=prevalence ratio; CI=confidence interval.
Bold-faced numbers indicate a prevalence ratio significantly separated from 1.0 or P<0.05.
a
Lower CI <1.0.
b
Lower CI >1.0.