A preliminary evaluation of the psychometric profiles in Chinese men with chronic prostatitis/chronic pelvic pain syndrome

Background As one of the most commonly diagnosed diseases, chronic prostatitis/chronic pelvic pain syndrome (CP/CPPS) is characterized by a variety of complex symptoms. Anxiety and depression are two of the most prevalent clinical manifestations of patients with CP/CPPS, and have adverse effects on the health of the subjects and prognosis of comorbidities. Such psychological disorders, however, have not been deeply and thoroughly studied in China. The aim of this study was to investigate the prevalence and severity of psychological disorders in Chinese adults with CP/CPPS. Methods From April 2008 to June 2009, 80 patients and 40 age-matched healthy men participating in a voluntary health examination were recruited. The majority of the subjects completed the questionnaires on the National Institutes of Health Chronic Prostatitis Symptom Index (NIH-CPSI) as well as the hospital anxiety and depression scale (HADS). Results Of all the participants, 77 (96.3%) patients and 37 (92.5%) healthy controls completed the questionnaires. The average NIH-CPSI total score was 21.0 +/- 9.5 for the patients and 2.2 +/- 1.5 for the controls (P=0.03). Of the 77 patients with CP/CPPS, 48 (62.3%), 5 (6.5%), and 1 (1.2%) had anxiety symptoms, depression symptoms, or both anxiety and depression symptoms, respectively. For the controls, the average HADS anxiety and depression scores in patients were 14.5 +/- 6.8 and 5.2 +/- 4.5, which were both significantly higher than in controls. Moreover, the prevalence and the symptom scores of both the HADS anxiety and depression were higher for the younger age group (< 35 years) than for the older age group (< 35 years). Conclusions This preliminary study revealed that male patients with CP/CPPS had a higher prevalence of psychological disorders than in the control subjects. Moreover, the differences of the prevalence and severity of the psychological symptoms between the two different age groups may imply that psychological disorders related to CP/CPPS may be relieved with increasing age. The present study indicated that psychological evaluation is important in men with CP/CPPS, especially in younger men. Chin Med J 2011;124(4):514-518