Sickness impact of chronic nonbacterial prostatitis and its correlates

Abstract

Purpose: There is evidence that many patients experiencing chronic idiopathic prostatitis or prostadynia not only have recurrent physical symptoms but also display a range of psychological symptoms, such as depression or anxiety, suggesting that the symptoms of chronic prostatitis may seriously impact on quality of life functioning. We investigated the degree of sickness impact of chronic prostatitis, and the differential importance of physical and psychological symptoms in predicting sickness impact.

Materials and methods: The sickness impact profile as well as several symptom measures were administered to 39 patients with chronic prostatitis. Multiple regression analyses were performed to evaluate what proportion of the variance in quality of life or functional status was explained by physical and psychological symptoms.

Results: The sickness impact profile mean total score of chronic prostatitis patients was within the range of scores reported in the literature for patients suffering myocardial infarction, angina or Crohn's disease. Pain was the only physical symptom that significantly contributed towards explaining variance in sickness impact. Psychological symptoms added significantly to the amount of predicted variance.

Conclusions: The results indicate a need for careful evaluation and attention to sickness related dysfunctions in patients with chronic prostatitis.