Abstract

Satoru Takahashi,Yukiko Shima,Winston Wong, and Juan-Manuel Palacios-Moreno*

Objectives: To assess attitudes and beliefs towards benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH)/lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS) and its treatment among Japanese patients and physicians. Methods: The Prostate Research on Behaviour and Education II quantitative survey used questionnaires to assess perceptions of 200 men with BPH/LUTS receiving drug treatment and 30 physicians treating BPH/LUTS. Results: One-quarter of patients reported not being adequately informed about BPH. Over 30% of patients did not consult, or delayed consulting, a physician when faced with initial symptoms. There was a disconnect between patients and physicians in the reasons for delayed consultation: 80% of physicians thought it was because men believed it was due to ageing, whereas only 39% of patients cited this reason. Moreover, physicians were generally less likely than patients to rate symptoms as severe at first presentation. Regarding progression, 70% of patients had never discussed surgery or acute urinary retention with their physician. Importantly, 33% of physicians reported tending not to take prevention of progression into account when deciding treatment. Conclusions: Areas of discordance exist between Japanese patients’ and physicians’ perceptions about BPH/LUTS, highlighting a need to proactively raise awareness to improve timely differential diagnosis and appropriate treatment, taking account of patients’ needs and preferences.