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. 2019 Jun 20;28(6):827–841. doi: 10.1089/jwh.2018.7364

Table 1.

Demographic, Lifestyle, and Clinical Characteristicsa of Women by Frequency of Lower Urinary Tract Symptoms and Interference with Activities from Urinary Experiences, Pain, or Discomfort in the Pubic Area in the Past Month; Boston Area Community Health Survey, 2002–2005

    Frequency of LUTS Frequency of interference
All participants (n = 3169) None (n = 729) Ever (n = 2440) p None (n = 2016) Ever (n = 1153) p
Age (years, %)
 26–44 45.8 54.6 43.6   50.4 37.0  
 45–64 38.2 29.0 40.5 <0.001 35.6 43.0 <0.001
 ≥65 16.0 16.4 15.9   13.9 20.1  
Race (%)
 Black 29.9 34.3 28.8   27.7 34.0  
 Hispanic 13.2 18.4 11.9 <0.001 13.2 13.3 0.027
 White 56.9 47.3 59.2   59.0 52.7  
Menopausal status (%)
 Premenopausal /Undetermined 34.0 44.1 31.5   39.1 24.4  
 Perimenopausal 23.3 19.9 24.1 <0.001 22.8 24.2 <0.001
 Postmenopausal 24.4 22.7 24.8   23.1 26.8  
 Surgical 18.3 13.2 19.6   15.0 24.6  
Parity (%)b
 0 pregnancies 21.2 22.0 21.0   22.9 18.0  
 1–3 pregnancies 46.7 49.6 46.0 0.336 47.5 45.2 0.027
 ≥4 pregnancies 32.0 28.2 32.9   29.5 36.6  
Cigarette smoking status (%)
 Never smoker 50.2 63.3 46.9   52.5 45.8  
 Former smoker 27.2 19.0 29.2 <0.001 25.6 30.2 0.083
 Current smoker 22.6 17.7 23.8   21.9 24.0  
Alcohol use (average drinks/day, %)b
 <1 drink 28.4 31.6 27.6   27.5 30.0  
 1–2 drinks 51.6 48.3 52.4 0.411 52.0 50.9 0.639
 ≥3 drinks 19.9 19.9 19.9   20.3 19.1  
BMI (kg/m2, %)b
 <25 33.3 38.4 32.1   37.6 25.2  
 25–29 28.6 30.2 28.2 0.037 29.2 27.5 <0.001
 ≥30 37.8 31.3 39.4   33.1 46.7  
Waist circumference (cm, %)b
 <65 3.1 3.9 2.9   3.4 2.5  
 65–89 51.3 56.9 49.9 0.014 54.3 45.6 0.017
 90–114 36.3 34.8 36.6   34.6 39.5  
 ≥115 8.8 4.4 9.9   7.4 11.3  
Health-related limitations in activities (%)
 Moderate activitiesc              
  Not limited at all 73.1 83.2 70.5   80.0 59.9  
  Limited a little 14.9 10.6 16.0 <0.001 12.1 20.3 <0.001
  Limited a lot 12.0 6.2 13.5   7.9 19.8  
 Climbing several flights of stairs
  Not limited at all 62.6 77.9 58.8   71.2 46.2  
  Limited a little 23.1 14.7 25.2 <0.001 19.9 29.2 <0.001
  Limited a lot 14.3 7.3 16.0   8.8 24.6  
 Self-reported physician diagnosis of (%)
  High blood pressure 28.2 20.9 30.0 0.001 23.3 37.6 <0.001
  Type I diabetes 2.8 1.2 3.1 0.011 1.6 4.9 <0.001
  Type II diabetes 7.8 5.0 8.4 0.022 6.1 10.9 0.001
  Cardiovascular diseased 19.8 14.6 21.1 0.015 16.1 26.8 <0.001
  Arthritis or rheumatism 28.8 18.0 31.5 <0.001 22.9 40.0 <0.001
Depressive symptoms (%)e 20.1 17.1 20.9 0.192 14.9 30.0 <0.001
a

All values were weighted according to the sampling weights of the BACH survey.

b

Numbers may not sum to 100% because of missing values.

c

Examples for participants included moving a table, pushing a vacuum cleaner, softball, or playing golf.

d

Includes coronary artery bypass, myocardial infarction, arrhythmia, congestive heart failure, transient ischemic attack, stroke, carotid artery surgery, intermittent claudication, pulmonary embolus, aortic aneurysm, heart rhythm disturbance, Raynaud's disease, and peripheral vascular disease.

e

Defined as an affirmative response to at least 5 of 8 items on a revised version of the Center for Epidemiologic Studies of Depression Scale.23

BACH, Boston Area Community Health; BMI, body mass index; LUTS, lower urinary tract symptom.