Relationship between each IPSS item score and erectile dysfunction in the Korean Internet Sexuality Survey (KISS): do men with weak streams have low sexual function?

Web based research in sexual medicine: a position statement of the European Society for Sexual Medicine

Background

Although the use of the Web has brought major advances in every step of the research process, this also comes with several methodological challenges.

Aim

The article presents the European Society for Sexual Medicine's position statements on key methodological concerns relative to Web-based research in sexual medicine.

Methods

The authors conducted a systematic scoping review of articles using Web-based research methods in sexual medicine. For the creation of the statements, the authors processed the data from the methodology of the studies and formulated the final statements reaching 100% agreement in the group.

Outcomes

European Society for Sexual Medicine statements were provided on the following domains: definition of the population of interest, selection of the population of interest, data collection quality, response rate, self-reported questionnaire, consent, and legal obligations.

Results

Researchers should justify the relevance of the Internet population to the population of interest; should clearly describe how they identified study participants; should select and employ specific measures to avoid hoax; should explicitly describe the process of calculation of response and completion rates as well as the relative implications; should validate traditional sexual health questionnaires for online and, if possible, multilingual use; should not ignore consent in Web-based research; and need to be knowledgeable of the technical measures and legal obligations to protect anonymity.

Implications

Researchers are advised to include trained computer scientists in their group, have a good understanding of their legal obligations as to collecting, storing and disseminating personal data, and design their studies by taking into account the challenges of Web-based research.

Strengths and limitations

The heterogeneity of the included studies and methodological low quality of most of them was a limitation, which also shows the importance of this study and the need for guidelines regarding Web-based research.

Conclusion

Large uncontrolled samples could be a threat to the quality of the studies and increase bias if researchers are not mindful of the methodological challenges they would need to account for.

Potential associations of adult nocturia. Results from a national prevalence study

AIM

To determine the prevalence of nocturia and associated risk factors in the Colombian population aged ≥18 years old.

METHODS

This is a cross-sectional population-based study conducted in 1060 participants in Colombia. Nocturia was assessed with the Spanish version of the ICIQ-OAB, using the ICS terminology. Descriptive statistics were used to evaluate nocturia prevalence. Logistic regression analysis was carried out to determine the association of nocturia with predefined variables.

RESULTS

The prevalence of nocturia was 55.9% and it was more common in women than men (53.96% vs. 46.04%; p = .004). At least three episodes of nocturia were observed in 20.37% of the participants who had a severe alteration in their quality of life (p < .01). The bivariate model showed an association between nocturia and obesity (odds ratio [OR], 1.69; 90% confidence interval [CI]: 1.22-2.34), diabetes mellitus (OR, 2.99; 90% CI: 1.86-4.83), high blood pressure (OR, 2.04; 90% CI: 1.52-2.72), cardiovascular disease (OR, 1.75; 90% CI: 1.08 - 2.83), depression (OR, 1.89; 90% CI: 1.23-2.89), obstructive sleep apnea (OR, 1.70; 90% CI: 1.17 - 2.46), and childhood enuresis (OR, 1.45; 90% CI: 1.04-2.02). The multivariate model showed an association with obesity (OR, 2.0; 95% CI: 1.14 - 3.51) in women, as well as age ≥ 65 years (OR, 3.18; 95% CI: 1.26 - 8.02) and erectile dysfunction (OR, 3.44; 95% CI: 1.21 - 9.72) in men. Childhood enuresis was significantly associated with nocturia in both genders (OR, 1.61; 95% CI: 1.09 - 2.40 in women and OR, 1.66; 95% CI: 1.09-2.52 in men).

CONCLUSION

There is a significant prevalence of nocturia in our population and a clear association with impaired quality of life. We consider important to inquire about history of childhood enuresis to define the risk of presenting nocturia in adulthood. Nocturia was associated with multiple comorbidities. Obesity and erectile dysfunction play an important role as modifiable risk factor.