Psychological and Functional Outcomes of Lower Urinary Tract Symptoms in Chronic Stroke

ABSTRACT Do lower urinary tract symptoms affect disease‐specific quality of life, anxiety, depression and functional status in chronic stroke patients? Nervous system lesions associated with stroke can cause lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS) in individuals. Post‐stroke dysfunctions significantly affect quality of life by causing depression and anxiety. The primary purpose of this study is to investigate the effects of LUTS on disease‐specific quality of life, functional status, anxiety and depression in individuals with chronic stroke. The secondary aim was to evaluate the coherence between Overactive Bladder Questionnaire‐V8 (OAB‐V8) and Core Lower Urinary Tract Symptom Score (CLSS) scores. This study was a planned single‐centre prospective cohort study conducted on patients with chronic stroke undergoing inpatient treatment at a rehabilitation centre. Eighty people with chronic stroke were included. LUTS were evaluated with the CLSS and OAB‐V8; functional status was evaluated with the functional independence measure (FIM); anxiety and depression levels were evaluated with the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS) and quality of life was evaluated with the Stroke‐Specific Quality of Life Scale (SS‐QoL). The SS‐QoL, HADS depression and anxiety subscores were significantly affected by CLSS and OAB‐V8 ( p < 0.05). A statistically significant effect was observed for CLSS on FIM ( p < 0.05); on the other hand, there was no statistically significant effect of OAB‐V8 on FIM ( p > 0.05). CLSS and OAB‐V8 had a statistically significant, strong positive relationship ( p < 0.05). A statistically significant coherence of 81.8% was found between CLSS and OAB‐V8. In conclusion, our results showed that LUTS have effects on disease‐specific quality of life, functional status, anxiety and depression in chronic stroke patients. Secondly, these questionnaires can be used in the diagnosis, treatment and follow‐up of LUTS in chronic stroke patients.