What is the real burden of the overactive bladder? Results from a national prevalence study

Jessica Santander; Mauricio Plata; Laura Zuluaga; Julián Azuero; Fabián Daza; Carlos Gustavo Trujillo; Juan Ignacio Caicedo; Martín Rondón

doi:10.1002/nau.24894

What is the real burden of the overactive bladder? Results from a national prevalence study

Neurourol Urodyn. 2022 Apr;41(4):926-934. doi: 10.1002/nau.24894. Epub 2022 Mar 1.

Authors

Jessica Santander¹, Mauricio Plata¹, Laura Zuluaga¹, Julián Azuero¹, Fabián Daza¹, Carlos Gustavo Trujillo¹, Juan Ignacio Caicedo¹, Martín Rondón²

Affiliations

¹ Department of Urology, Hospital Universitario Fundación Santa Fe de Bogotá and Universidad de los Andes School of Medicine, Bogotá, D.C., Colombia.
² Department of Clinical Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Pontificia Universidad Javeriana, Bogotá, D.C., Colombia.

PMID: 35233807
DOI: 10.1002/nau.24894

Abstract

Objective: To describe the prevalence of overactive bladder determining patient-reported outcome measures (PROMS) and potential risk factors.

Methods: A cross-sectional population-based study to estimate lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS) prevalence in the Colombian population was performed (COBaLT study). Overactive bladder (OAB) was assessed using 2002 International Continence Society definitions and the Report on the Terminology for Female Pelvic Floor Dysfunction. PROMS were included to evaluate participant's perceptions of health-related quality of life (QoL). Spanish validated questionnaires were used, including the International Consultation on Incontinence Questionnaire Overactive Bladder (ICIQ-OAB) and Patient Perception of Bladder Condition (PPBC) scale.

Results: A total of 1060 individuals were assessed. The mean age of participants was 42.2 years, and most participants were Hispanic (93.15%). The overall prevalence of OAB syndrome was 31.70%, and it was more frequently reported in women than in men (39.25% vs. 24.15%). Most participants with OAB did not perceive their symptoms as bothersome. The most bothersome symptom, associated with moderate/severe impact in QoL was urinary urgency. According to the PPBC questionnaire 75.6% of the participants reported that their bladder condition does not cause any problem, while 11.% reported moderate to severe bother. The multivariable model showed high blood pressure and anxiety were associated with OAB in men. In females, depression, obstructive sleep apnea, IBS, and pelvic organ prolapse were associated with OAB syndrome.

Conclusions: Using the symptomatic definition of OAB can overestimate the real impact and burden of the condition, and treatment should be targeted to those symptomatic patients with QoL impairment as they would benefit from further management. The questionnaires seem to overestimate the condition, since we assessed it from a PROMS perspective there is not such a marked QoL impact.

Keywords: PROMS; overactive bladder; quality of life.

MeSH terms

Adult
Cross-Sectional Studies
Female
Humans
Lower Urinary Tract Symptoms* / complications
Male
Prevalence
Quality of Life
Surveys and Questionnaires
Urinary Bladder, Overactive*
Urinary Incontinence* / epidemiology