In response to a lack of basic descriptive epidemiology of urologic symptoms in the general populationthe Boston Area Community Health (BACH) Survey was established by the NIDDK to survey residents in the Boston metropolitan area about their urologic symptoms and how those symptoms affect their daily lives. The BACH Survey was designed to estimate the prevalence of urologic symptoms typical of interstitial cystitis (IC), urinary incontinence, benign prostatic hyperplasia, prostatitis, hypogonadism, and impaired sexual function by race/ethnicity, age, sex, and socioeconomic status (SES). The survey created a random community-based sample of racially and ethnically diverse men and women across a broad age range, between 30 and 79 years. The cohort consisted of 5502 participants, approximately equally divided between African American, Hispanic, and Caucasian individuals. A substantial proportion of the originally recruited cohort was followed-up.

The investigators conducted a two-hour, in-home, bilingual field interview of all eligible participants, in which they examined symptoms and asked questions about lifestyle, physical activity, alcohol use, nutrition, demographics, and morbidity. They also conducted a detailed inventory of medications, both prescribed and over-the-counter, and took two non-fasting blood samples for hormone, cholesterol, and lipid levels. While the initial BACH study focused on urologic symptoms and conditions as its main outcomes of interest, two follow-up and a number of sub-studies were subsequently initiated on the BACH cohort with a focus on other health conditions in addition to urologic symptoms.

The BACH study contributed greatly to knowledge of the prevalence of urologic conditions, which was shown to be greater than previously estimated. The study succeeded in creating a large, racially-diverse sample to provide cross sectional, longitudinal data to explore urologic questions. This data has been used by researchers to identify gender, racial/ethnic, and socioeconomic disparities in a number of health conditions and is available for future studies.

The primary aim of the BACH study was to estimate the prevalence of urologic conditions such as interstitial cystitis (IC), urinary incontinence, benign prostatic hyperplasia, prostatitis, hypogonadism, and impaired sexual function by race/ethnicity, age, sex, and socioeconomic status (SES). Other objectives included assessing risk factors for these symptoms, evaluating impact of symptoms on quality of life, and establishing a collection of data for use in future studies.

Information concerning the following was collected from participants: urologic symptoms, medications, lifestyle, medical history, morbidity, alcohol use, nutrition, and sociodemographics.

The cohort consisted of a representative community-based sample of men and women aged 30 to 79 years, divided proportionately according to race/ethnicity by Hispanic, African American, and Caucasian identification.

The BACH Survey contributed greatly to the knowledge of the prevalence of urologic conditions, which was shown to be greater than previously estimated. The study succeeded in creating a large, racially-diverse sample to provide both cross sectional and longitudinal data to explore urologic questions. Findings from the survey have been used to identify sex, and racial/ethnic differences for a number of urologic symptoms.