Depression and Somatic Symptoms May Influence on Chronic Prostatitis/Chronic Pelvic Pain Syndrome: A Preliminary Study

The present study is the first one to investigate the impacts of depression and somatization on the disease severity and quality of life (QoL) in patients with chronic prostatitis/chronic pelvic pain syndrome (CP/CPPS). The Korean version of National Institutes of Health (NIH)- Chronic Prostatitis Symptom Index (CPSI) for severity of CP/CPPS. Korean version of Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9) for depression, Korean version of Patient Health Questionnaire-15 (PHQ-15) for somatization, and Korean version of EuroQol Questionnaire-5 Dimensions (EQ-5D)- [(EQ-5D utility index and visual analog scale (EQ-5D VAS)] for QoL, were administered. Eighty patients were enrolled. The NIH-CPSI total scores were significantly higher in those with depression (25.3%, p=0.01) or somatization (23.2%, p=0.03) than in those without. These trends toward significantly negative influence of depression and somatic symptoms on QoL were also observed. Our preliminary results indicate that depression and somatization may have negative influence on the symptom severity and QoL in patients with CP/CPPS. However, adequately-powered and more well-designed studies are mandatory to prove our results.