Lower urinary tract symptoms are associated with musculoskeletal pain among older men: Preliminary evidence for central sensitization as a mechanism?

Aims: Features of central sensitization (CS) are present in almost all chronic pain conditions, including painful urinary conditions and back pain. Recently CS was proposed as a mechanism of nonpainful lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS). Using musculoskeletal pain as an indicator of CS, we investigated whether the prevalence of musculoskeletal pain is greater among community-dwelling men with moderate or severe LUTS compared to those with mild LUTS. Methods: We conducted a cross-sectional study of 5966 men ≥65 years who attended the Osteoporotic Fractures in Men Study baseline visit. LUTS were assessed with the American Urological Association Symptom Index (AUA-SI) and categorized as none/mild (0–7), moderate (8–19), or severe (≥20). Self-reported back, neck, hip, or knee pain within the 12 months before baseline was categorized as any pain and multilocation pain. We tested our hypothesis using odds ratios (OR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) estimated from multivariable logistic regression models. Results: The adjusted odds of any pain were higher among men with moderate (OR 1.49, 95% CI: 1.29–1.72) and severe LUTS (OR 1.76, 95% CI: 1.28–2.40) compared to those with no/mild LUTS. The adjusted odds of pain at ≥ 2 locations were 69% higher among men with moderate (OR 1.69, 95% CI: 1.45–196) and more than double among men with severe LUTS (OR 2.24, 95% CI: 1.62–3.10) compared to men with no/mild LUTS. Conclusions: Musculoskeletal pain, especially at multiple locations, is associated with greater LUTS severity among older men. CS may represent a novel shared mechanism of pain and LUTS.