Lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS) are highly prevalent in women, and are expected to impose a growing burden to individuals and society as the population ages. The predominance of research related to LUTS has focused on underlying pathology, disease mechanisms, or the efficacy of treatments for women with LUTS. Although this research has been vital for helping to reduce or ameliorate LUTS conditions, it has done little to prevent the onset of LUTS. Health promotion and prevention require an expansion of scientific inquiry beyond the traditional paradigm of studying disease mechanisms and treatment to the creation of an evidence base to support recommendations for bladder health promotion and, in turn, prevention of LUTS. The National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK) introduced the concept of prevention as an important priority for women's urologic research as a prelude to supporting the formation of the Prevention of Lower Urinary Tract Symptoms (PLUS) research consortium. In this article, we introduce the PLUS research consortium to the scientific community; share the innovative paradigms by which the consortium operates; and describe its unique research mission: to identify factors that promote bladder health across the life course and prevent the onset of LUTS in girls and women.
Journal of women's health (2002). 2017 Sep 15 [Epub]
Bernard L Harlow, Tamara G Bavendam, Mary H Palmer, Linda Brubaker, Kathryn L Burgio, Emily S Lukacz, Janis M Miller, Elizabeth R Mueller, Diane K Newman, Leslie M Rickey, Siobhan Sutcliffe, Denise Simons-Morton
1 Department of Epidemiology, Boston University School of Public Health , Boston, Massachusetts., 2 Division of Kidney, Urologic, and Hematologic Diseases, National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases, National Institutes of Health , Bethesda, Maryland., 3 School of Nursing, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill , Chapel Hill, North Carolina., 4 Division of Female Pelvic Medicine and Reconstructive Surgery, Department of Reproductive Medicine, University of California San Diego , San Diego, California., 5 Division of Gerontology, Geriatrics, and Palliative Care, University of Alabama at Birmingham , Birmingham, Alabama., 7 Division of Female Pelvic Medicine and Reconstructive Surgery, UC San Diego Health System , San Diego, California., 8 School of Nursing, University of Michigan , Ann Arbor, Michigan., 9 Division of Female Pelvic Medicine and Reconstructive Surgery, Stritch School of Medicine, Loyola-University of Chicago , Maywood, Illinois., 10 Division of Urology, Department of Surgery, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania , Philadelphia, Pennsylvania., 11 Department of Urology, Yale School of Medicine , New Haven, Connecticut., 12 Division of Public Health Sciences, Washington University School of Medicine , St. Louis, Missouri., 13 Morton Consulting , Bethesda, Maryland.