Background: Clinical features of micturition syncope (MS) seem to be differ according to age and the present study sought to clarify this.
Methods and results: The 37 consecutive patients (mean age: 52.2 +/-16.8 years, 26 men) with MS were divided into 2 groups by median age of 55: younger group (YG) consisting of 18 patients <55 years (average 38.2) and an older group (OG) consisting of 19 patients >or=55 years (average 65.5). Alcohol-related MS was significantly more frequent in the YG than in the OG (78% vs 42%, P=0.027). Daily distribution of MS was significantly different (P=0.0009): 85% of the MS in the YG occurred before midnight (PM), whereas 75% of the MS in the OG occurred after midnight (AM). Although overall positive responses of head-up tilt testing were more common in the OG (P=0.046), gender, number of syncope, and association with vasovagal syncope or cardiovascular disease were not different between both groups.
Conclusions: In the YG, MS tended to occur in the evening or nighttime before midnight, whereas MS in the OG tended to occur after midnight or early in the morning. Alcohol intake may be an important precipitating factor for MS in young subjects.