BACK TO LIFE WITHOUT INTERRUPTIONS SURVEY FACT SHEET

National Survey Conducted Among Men age 50 and Over

Men are willing to change their daily routine to compensate for the need to urinate frequently rather than seek medical attention.
  • Nearly 70 percent of American men age 50 and over change their daily routines to compensate for the need to urinate frequently rather than seek medical attention
Most men assume their urinary symptoms are part of the aging process and won’t see a physician to discuss the daily disruptions they experience unless the symptoms persist for up to a year.
  • More than 50 percent of men age 50 and over realize the number of times they use the restroom has doubled or more over the last 10 years

  • Nearly 65 percent of men think that frequent urination is a normal part of aging

  • Nearly 65 percent of men over 50 have not seen a doctor about prostate symptoms such as frequent urination, decreased urine stream, difficulty or pain while urinating, or a feeling of incomplete emptying of the bladder
  • Almost 10 percent of men say that they’d wait at least a year, if ever, before approaching a doctor to talk about their symptoms
Most American men do not appear to be widely aware of benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH), or enlarged prostate; however, many men age 50 and over have experienced potential BPH-associated symptoms.
  • According to the survey only 11 percent of men (equivalent of four million men) age 50 and over have male friends diagnosed with BPH

  • One-third (33 percent) of men say they have to frequently empty their bladder, and 22 percent feel like they haven’t completely emptied their bladder after going to the bathroom-- both common symptoms of BPH
Men may not think of frequent urination as a “severe disruption” until this symptom disrupts something important in their lives or daily routines.
  • Nearly 40 percent of men indicate that interruptions during an important business meeting or a lengthy ceremony, such as a wedding or graduation, due to their urinary symptoms, would be considered “severe disruptions” to their quality of life

  • More than a third (37 percent) of men surveyed indicate that they wouldn’t consider seeing a doctor unless their symptoms were “very severe”
Survey Methodology

As part of the Back to Life Without Interruptions program, a survey was fielded to identify whether men recognize that their urination habits disrupt their daily routines and could be the sign of a potential health problem such as enlarged prostate. Men’s Health Network (MHN) found that men are coping with these symptoms and denying that they are a problem, rather than addressing their symptoms with a physician.

The national survey was conducted by the research organization International Communications Research (ICR) for the Men’s Health Network via telephone with 1,026 men age 50 and over across the United States.

The survey was sponsored by sanofi-aventis U.S. LLC