Abstract

Background: Exploring the prevalence of lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS) in multiple sclerosis (MS) patients may lead to optimizing therapeutic interventions that could improve their quality of life (QoL). The main objective of this study was to assess the prevalence of LUTS in patients with MS in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
Methodology: This cross-sectional study targeted Saudi nationals aged 18-50 who were previously diagnosed with MS and presented with urinary tract dysfunction symptoms. It was conducted from November 2020 to January 2021 through the distribution of a self-administered electronic questionnaire.
Results: Data were collected from 158 patients with MS. Most participants (44.3%) were between 30 and 39 years old, and 64.6% were female. The severity of LUTS is significantly associated with the QoL of patients, where an increase in severity of LUTS would worsen their QoL (p < 0.001). More than half of the sample (52.5%) indicated that they had taken treatment for these symptoms, 40.7% of whom reported using medicinal treatment. The duration of illness, age, or gender was found to have no significant effect on LUTS severity.
Conclusion: We found that LUTS and urinary incontinence prevalence among patients with MS do not significantly correlate with different genders and age groups. LUTS seem to have a significant negative impact on the QoL of patients with MS.

Key words: Multiple sclerosis, LUTS, neurogenic bladder, urinary incontinence