Urological symptoms among 23,240 men in the general danish population – concerns about symptoms, their persistence and influence on primary care contacts

Objective: To analyse possible associations between men’s likelihood of contacting a general practitioner (GP) for urological symptoms and the persistence of the symptoms, the influence on daily activities and the level of concern about the symptoms. Design: Web-based nationwide cross-sectional questionnaire study. Setting: The general population in Denmark. Subjects: 48,910 randomly selected men aged 20+ years. Main outcome measures: Urological symptom prevalence and odds ratios for GP contact with urological symptoms in regard to concern for the symptom, influence on daily activities and the persistence of the symptom. Results: Some 23,240 men responded to the questionnaire, yielding a response rate of 49.8%. The prevalence of at least one urological symptom was 59.9%. Among men experiencing at least one urological symptom almost one-fourth reported contact to general practice regarding the symptom. Approximately half of the symptoms reported to be extremely concerning were discussed with a GP. Conclusion: KEY POINTS: The decision process of whether to contact the general practitioner (GP) is influenced by different factors, but contradictory results has been found in triggers and barriers for help-seeking with urological symptoms. • Increased symptom concern, influence on daily activities and long-term persistence consistently increased the likelihood of contacting a general practitioner with urological symptoms in men. • Only 50% of the symptoms reported to be extremely concerning were however discussed with the GP. • Guidelines for PSA testing might be challenged by the high prevalence of urological symptoms.