Evidence map›Paper›PMID 41843202›Full record

ArticleWorld journal of urology2026

Subgroups of lower urinary tract symptoms in men and their association with patient-centered outcomes: a cluster analysis of the 2023 Japan community health survey.

Kenji Omae, Noritoshi Sekido, Nobuhiro Haga, Yasue Kubota, Motoaki Saito, Ryuji Sakakibara, Mikako Yoshida, Takahiko Mitsui, Naoya Masumori, Satoru Takahashi

Abstract read
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In one paragraph

Article in World journal of urology, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
1citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

1 citing paper in PubMed.

  1. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

10 authors.

Kenji OmaeEpidemiological Survey Executive Committee, the Japanese Continence Society, Chiyoda, Tokyo, Japan. omae416@fmu.ac.jp.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0003-0109-7425
Noritoshi SekidoEpidemiological Survey Executive Committee, the Japanese Continence Society, Chiyoda, Tokyo, Japan.
Nobuhiro HagaEpidemiological Survey Executive Committee, the Japanese Continence Society, Chiyoda, Tokyo, Japan.
Yasue KubotaEpidemiological Survey Executive Committee, the Japanese Continence Society, Chiyoda, Tokyo, Japan.
Motoaki SaitoEpidemiological Survey Executive Committee, the Japanese Continence Society, Chiyoda, Tokyo, Japan.
Ryuji SakakibaraEpidemiological Survey Executive Committee, the Japanese Continence Society, Chiyoda, Tokyo, Japan.
Mikako YoshidaEpidemiological Survey Executive Committee, the Japanese Continence Society, Chiyoda, Tokyo, Japan.
Takahiko MitsuiEpidemiological Survey Executive Committee, the Japanese Continence Society, Chiyoda, Tokyo, Japan.
Naoya MasumoriEpidemiological Survey Executive Committee, the Japanese Continence Society, Chiyoda, Tokyo, Japan.
Satoru TakahashiEpidemiological Survey Executive Committee, the Japanese Continence Society, Chiyoda, Tokyo, Japan.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

purposeTo apply an unsupervised machine learning approach to identify distinct subgroups of lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS) in adult men and to evaluate their association with patient-centered outcomes, including quality of life (QoL), willingness to pay (WTP) for treatment, and healthcare-seeking behavior.

methodsData were obtained from 3,112 male participants aged ≥ 20 years in a 2023 nationwide Japanese web-based survey on LUTS. Sixteen LUTS domains, including storage, voiding, and postvoiding symptoms as well as bladder pain and discomfort, were analyzed. Dimensionality reduction was performed using principal component analysis, followed by hierarchical clustering to classify participants based on symptom patterns. Differences in QoL, WTP, and healthcare-seeking behavior were subsequently examined across the identified clusters.

resultsThree symptom-based subgroups were identified: the Mild/Asymptomatic group (n = 1,224, 39.3%), the Moderate Mixed (Storage-Voiding-Postvoiding) group (n = 1,204, 38.7%), and the Severe Complex (Storage-Voiding-Postvoiding-Pain/Discomfort) group (n = 694, 22.3%). The Severe Complex group, characterized by a broad spectrum and high intensity of LUTS, showed the greatest QoL impairment across all domains (daily life, emotions, sleep/energy, personal relationships, and role, physical, and social limitations). Although WTP and physician consultation rates were highest in the Severe Complex group, median monthly WTP was limited to ¥1,000 ($7), and consultation rates remained low (16.1%).

conclusionAn unsupervised machine learning approach identified three clinically relevant subgroups in LUTS among adult men. Even among the most severely affected men, WTP was limited and healthcare-seeking remained low, underscoring the need for greater awareness and targeted intervention. RUNNING HEAD: Clustering of lower urinary tract symptoms in adult men.

Indexed as

Lower Urinary Tract SymptomsPatient Acceptance of Health CareQuality of LifeAdultAgedCluster AnalysisClustering AlgorithmsHealth SurveysHumansJapanMaleMiddle AgedYoung AdultIncontinenceMen’s healthOveractive bladderQuestionnaireTreatment-seeking behaviorUnderactive bladder

Identifiers

PMID41843202

What Socratic holds

Textmetadata
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Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the Socratic graph.