Bariatric surgery has shown reductions in overactive bladder (OAB) symptoms; however, the impacts on OAB treatment is unknown. The goal of our study is to evaluate the impact of bariatric surgery on OAB medication utilization.
We used IBM® MarketScan® commercial databases from 2005 to 2018. We included patients aged ≥ 18 years with 360 days of continuous enrollment before and after bariatric surgery (Roux-en-Y Gastric Bypass and Sleeve Gastrectomy) with at least one fill of an OAB medication in the 360 days prior to bariatric surgery. We evaluated all included patients and stratified by surgery type and patient sex. Segmented regression analyses were used to assess the proportion of patients on OAB medications before and after bariatric surgery. We replicated our findings using hip or knee replacement surgery as a negative control.
Among the included patients (n = 3069), 92.2% were females, 58.6% underwent Roux-en-Y Gastric Bypass. Immediately following bariatric surgery, the proportion of patients treated with an OAB medication reduced from 34.8 to 14.1% (p < 0.001) resulting in a 59.5% relative reduction. Patients who underwent Roux-en-Y Gastric Bypass vs. Sleeve Gastrectomy (63.8% vs. 55.1%) relative reduction (p = 0.009)) and females versus males [62.3% vs. 52.9% relative reduction (p < 0.001)] had a more pronounced reduction in OAB medication use. There was slight decrease in OAB medication use in the negative control analysis.
A reduction in OAB medication use following bariatric surgery may be associated with a reduction in OAB symptoms suggesting an additional benefit of bariatric surgery.
World journal of urology. 2022 Apr 06 [Epub ahead of print]
Julie Al-Bahou, Hemita Bhagwandass, Ivelisse L Valdes, Jeffrey Friedman, Scott Martin Vouri
Department of Pharmaceutical Outcomes & Policy, College of Pharmacy, University of Florida, PO Box 100496, Gainesville, FL, 32610-0496, USA., Department of Surgery, College of Medicine, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, USA., Department of Pharmaceutical Outcomes & Policy, College of Pharmacy, University of Florida, PO Box 100496, Gainesville, FL, 32610-0496, USA. .