Purpose: Lower urinary tract symptoms, particularly in overactive bladder (OAB), are frequently observed among elderly patients. The impact of OAB on their quality of life is so strong that the assessment of OAB is necessary in comprehensive geriatric assessment (CGA). As CGA takes time to complete, we established a convenient instrument consisting of 2 questions on OAB and assessed its utility.
Method: We recruited 123 elderly patients with various diseases (mean age: 83.2 years, 63 men), in whom 2 questions on nocturia (Q1) and urinary incontinence at night (Q2) were asked. Thereafter, overactive bladder symptom scores (OABSS) were obtained to diagnose OAB based on the OAB criteria. Statistical analyses for Q1 and Q2 were performed using the OABSS criterion as a gold standard. To elucidate the clinical characteristics of the elderly patients, they were divided into 2 groups on the basis of the presence or absence of nocturia: nocturia (+) and nocturia (-) groups. The nocturia (+) group was subdivided into 2 subgroups: with or without incontinence.
Results: Nocturia (Q1) was observed in 82 elderly patients and urinary incontinence (Q2) in 23, whereas OAB was diagnosed in 22. The sensitivity, specificity, and positive predictive value (PPV) of Q1 (Q1+Q2) were 100% (68.2%), 40.6% (92.1%), and 26.8% (65.2%), respectively. The nocturia (+) group patients were characterized as predominantly composed of men with cerebrovascular disease, disturbed activities of daily living, interrupted sleep, delayed wake-up time, and treatment with diuretics. Furthermore, Parkinson disease, depressive state, sedentary life style, and treatment without diuretics were frequently observed in patients in the incontinence (+) subgroup.
Conclusion: A low PPV with a high sensitivity of Q1 was improved by using Q1+Q2, where both Q1 and Q2 enable better assessment of OAB resulting in being a useful screening test for OAB.