Is Serum PSA a Predictor of Lower Urinary Tract Symptom Severity in Nigerian Males 40 Years and above?

Background: Prostatic diseases are the commonest cause of lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS) in men worldwide. The most ideal method for assessing symptom severity in men with LUTS currently is the International Prostate Symptom Score (IPSS). Prostate specific antigen (PSA) is widely in use as an indicator of prostatic disease in general. Few studies have been carried out to correlate PSA with symptom severity in men with LUTS.

Aim: To correlate Prostate Specific Antigen (PSA) values with International Prostate Symptom Scores (IPSS) in a screened population of male subjects 40 years and above presenting with symptoms at a medical outreach.

Study Design: Cross-sectional descriptive study.

Place and Time of Study: The study was carried out at the University of Calabar, South-Southern Nigeria in November 2016.

Methodology: Sixty one male subjects were interviewed using the IPSS questionnaire after which blood samples for PSA estimation were collected. PSA values were then correlated with IPSS and Quality of Life (QoL) scores.

Results: Sixty one male patients with mean age 52.03±7.5 years were included in the study. Over 67% of subjects had a PSA value less than 4ng/ml. No statistically significant correlation was found between PSA and IPSS scores or QoL values in the subjects.

Conclusion: This study shows PSA not to be a predictor of prostate symptom severity. More studies need to be carried out to be able to confirm these findings.