Women with overactive bladder (OAB) report psychological distress, anxiety and depression, but short-term associations between these symptoms are poorly studied. Our objectives were to study daily associations between OAB symptoms and psychological symptoms and test whether these associations were stable when reassessed after 3 months. We hypothesized that OAB symptoms are positively associated with anxiety and depression symptoms over a short-term (daily) basis.
Female patients with OAB [bothersome urgency and/or urgency urinary incontinence (UUI)] assessed OAB and mood symptoms at baseline and 3 months using a 3-day bladder diary and visual analog scale (VAS) ratings (0-100 mm) for anxiety, depression and stress. Daily OAB and mood symptom associations were tested using Spearman correlations. Generalized estimating equation (GEE) models tested associations between daily urgency scores and each psychological rating adjusting for covariates, time and a time-symptom interaction term.
Participants (n = 69) had mean (SD) age 63.3 (13.4) years. Baseline diary outcomes [median (IQR)/day] included day voids 8 (7-11), nocturia 0 (0-1), UUI episodes 1 (0-3) and urgency score 1.75 (1-2.25). Anxiety and depression diagnoses (dx) and treatment (tx) were common (anxiety dx 30.4%, tx 21.7%; depression dx 47.8%, tx 37.7%), but daily anxiety, depression and stress ratings were low [median (IQR) mm 10 (3-35), 5 (1-16), and 16 (4-39), respectively]. Daily urgency scores correlated with anxiety (r = 0.30-0.40, days 1-3, p ≤ 0.01 for all), depression (r = 0.24-0.35, p ≤ 0.05 all) and stress (r = 0.27-0.34, p ≤ 0.03 all). GEE models indicated no significant change in these associations between baseline and 3 months, and OAB treatment did not impact the associations.
Urgency scores were positively associated with same-day ratings of anxiety, depression and stress in OAB patients.
International urogynecology journal. 2021 Nov 29 [Epub ahead of print]
Allen A Mehr, Karl J Kreder, Susan K Lutgendorf, Patrick Ten Eyck, Emma S Greimann, Catherine S Bradley
Division of Female Pelvic Medicine and Reconstructive Surgery, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics, 200 Hawkins Drive, Iowa City, IA, 52242, USA., Department of Urology, University of Iowa Carver College of Medicine, Iowa City, IA, USA., Departments of Psychological and Brain Sciences and Urology, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA, USA., Institute for Clinical and Translational Science, University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics, Iowa City, IA, USA., Carver College of Medicine, University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics, Iowa City, IA, USA., Division of Female Pelvic Medicine and Reconstructive Surgery, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics, 200 Hawkins Drive, Iowa City, IA, 52242, USA. .