| Sumario: | Objective: Benign prostate hyperplasia (BPH) is a common health problem through-out the world. The aim of the study was to evaluate the consequence of BPH on partners by using Turkish version of a specific quality of life (QoL) scale for partners of BPH patients. Material and Methods: The study group consisted of partners of 300 BPH patients who were admitted to urology outpatient departments of two university hospitals (Düzce University and Celal Bayar University) with lower urinary tract symptoms. BPH patients were asked to fill out International Prostate Symptom Score (IPSS) form, while female partners were separately requested to complete the specific QoL questionnaire. Results: The mean age of patients with BPH was 63.8 ± 7.2 years and it was 56.3 ± 6.5 years for female partners. The results of the specific questionnaire showed that QoL of partners were significantly affected. Particularly, most of the the partners had the fear of cancer development and possibility of surgery for their husbands, 77% (231/300 partners) and 79% (237/300 partners), respectively. At night majority of partners woke up frequently because of their husbands, however mostl of them declared no or little disturbance in terms of being tired during the day. On the other hand, it was revealed that there was a significant correlation between QoL degrees of partners and IPSS values of BPH patients (p< 0.001; correlation coefficient 0.664). Conclusion: BPH significantly impairs the QoL of female partners. This negative impact correlates with the IPSS values of BPH patients. Therefore, the physicians should also consider burden of the female partners in the management of BPH patients.
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