Paper
Thursday, July 22, 2004
9:30 AM - 10:00 AM
Thursday, July 22, 2004
2:30 PM - 3:00 PM
This presentation is part of : Posters I
Urinary Symptoms in Older Men With Parkinson's Disease
Joanne P. Robinson, PhD, RN, CS1, Lisette Bunting-Perry, MSc, RN, CCRC2, Dawn McHale, N/A2, Allison Leary, N/A3, Katherine O'Neill, N/A3, and Tamara Avi-Itzhak, DSc4. (1) College of Nursing, Rutgers University, Newark, NJ, USA, (2) Parkinson's Disease Research, Education, & Clinical Center, Veterans Administration Medical Center, Philadelphia, PA, USA, (3) University of Delaware, Newark, DE, USA, (4) Department of Occupational Therapy, New York Institute of Technology, Old Westbury, NY, USA

Parkinson’s disease (PD) is the second most common neurodegenerative disorder in the United States. Urinary symptoms are common in PD patients, but have not been well studied. Even less is known about urinary symptoms in older men. Objective: The purpose of this study was to examine the prevalence, correlates, and predictors of urinary symptoms in older men with PD. Design: Retrospective, descriptive. Population, Sample, Setting, Years: The population of older men with PD was studied using admission clinical records of all male PD patients (n = 365) enrolled in a movement disorder clinic during July 2003. Variables: Guided by the Theory of Unpleasant Symptoms, we examined: 1) the prevalence of urinary urgency, frequency, nocturia, and incontinence; 2) relationships between each urinary symptom and hypothesized physiological, psychological, and situational correlates (i.e., age, PD duration, PD severity, medications, cognition, functional status, physical and psychological co-morbidities, ethnicity, education, occupation, marital status); and 3) predictors of each urinary symptom. Methods: Data were extracted from each record, checked for accuracy, and imported into an SPSS file for analysis. Data analysis is currently underway using descriptive, correlational, chi square, and regression procedures. Findings (preliminary): Inter-rater reliability was .99 in a randomly selected 10% sample of records. Most patients were cognitively intact and had mild functional impairments. Mean age was 71.7 years. Urinary urgency was reported by 4%, frequency by 12%, nocturia by 12%, and incontinence by 22%. Conclusions (preliminary): Urinary symptoms affect older men with PD. Incontinence is experienced by almost 1 in 4, even during early stages of the disease. Implications: Understanding the prevalence and patterns of urinary symptoms in male PD patients is the first step toward effective screening, detection, and access to care and treatment. Future investigations should address impact on quality of life and strategies for prevention and intervention.

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Sigma Theta Tau International
July 22-24, 2004