Prevalence and disease-specific risk factors for Lower Urinary Tract symptoms in Systemic Sclerosis: an international multi-centric study

Objective The aim of the present study was to determine the prevalence of lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS) in systemic sclerosis (SSc), to find specific risk factors and to assess their impact on quality of life (QoL). Methods In a multi-centric study, 334 patients completed a self-administered questionnaire on LUTS and QoL. LUTS were classified into three main categories: storage, voiding, and post micturition symptoms. Digestive symptoms burden was captured by a visual analogic scale, divided into five equal categories. Multivariable logistic regressions were performed to test association between risk factors and LUTS categories. Linear regression adjusted the association between LUTS and QoL. Results LUTS were recorded in 311 SSc patients (96.0%) and classified as severe in 120 (38.0%). The storage category of LUTS was the most prevalent (91.9%) followed by voiding (72.2%) and post micturition symptoms (49.8%). Risk factors identified in the multivariable models were higher than the median HAQ-DI (OR: 4.2; 95%CI: 1.4-12.9) for storage category; higher than the median HAQ-DI (OR: 2.4; 95%CI: 1.2-4.9), digestive symptoms burden (OR: 1.9; 95%CI: 1.3-2.7), and synovitis (OR: 4.8; 95%CI: 1.0-22.6) for voiding category; and digestive symptoms burden (OR: 1.2; 95%CI: 1.0-1.5) for post micturition category of symptoms. These factors also increased the odds to suffer from further severe symptoms. QoL was affected by the three categories of LUTS and decreased progressively with increasing frequency of symptoms. Conclusion Self-reported LUTS are amongst the most frequent symptoms in SSc and are associated with digestive complaints. SSc patients with LUTS have lower QoL. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.