Objectives: To estimate the prevalence of nocturia among men and women aged 40 to 79 years old.
Material and methods: A postal survey was carried out in a community-dwelling random sample in Auxerre, France. Nocturia was assessed using the item 7 of the International Prostate Symptom Score (IPSS).
Results: 1216 men and 591 women participated in the survey. Average nocturnal urinary frequency was 0.98 and 0.95 among men and women, respectively. Between the age ranges 40-49 years and 70-79 years, the frequency increased from 0.70 to 1.61 among men, and from 0.72 to 1.31 among women. In the age range 70-79 years, 48.1% of men and 31% of women awakened from sleep to urinate at least twice per night.
Conclusion: Patients and primary care physicians should be more informed about screening and management options, and impact of nocturia on quality of life and related morbidity.