Overactive bladder (OAB) and depression are both common disorders and there is research suggesting an association between the two, but there is a lack of studies with large samples. The aim of this study is to investigate the association between OAB and depressive symptoms.
We used data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) database for the period 2005 to 2018. OAB was characterized by the Overactive Bladder Symptom Score (OABSS, score > 3) and depression was diagnosed by the Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9, score ≥ 10). There were three models employed in our analysis: (1) Crude model was unadjusted; (2) Model 1 was adjusted for age, sex, race/ethnicity, educational level, and marital status; (3) Model 2 was adjusted for factors in Model 1 plus the remained potential covariates. We used survey-weighted logistic regression models to assess the association between OAB and depression. Subsequently, subgroup analyses and smoothed curve analyses were used to evaluate the reliability of the findings.
Finally, a total of 6612 participants were included in our study, consisting of 1005 participants with diagnosis of OAB and 5607 participants without diagnosis of OAB. After adjusting for all covariates, there was a significant positive association between OAB and depression (OR: 2.89, 95 % CI: 1.91, 4.37). The severity of OAB was also positively associated with depression. Compared to participants without OAB, the fully adjusted ORs for depression were 2.76 (95 % CI: 1.64, 4.65) for those with mild OAB, 3.79 (95 % CI: 1.68, 8.55) for those with moderate OAB, and 5.21 (95 % CI: 1.39, 19.53) for those with severe OAB.
This study revealed a strong association between OAB and depression and a progressive increase in the risk of depression as the severity of OAB (mild, moderate, and severe) increased. Therefore, it is important for clinicians to recognize the assessment of OAB symptoms in patients who are at risk for or have developed depressive symptoms, as well as the mental health of patients with OAB.
Journal of affective disorders. 2024 Apr 18 [Epub ahead of print]
Yuyang Zhang, Xu Wu, Guodong Liu, Xingliang Feng, Hui Jiang, Xiansheng Zhang
Department of Urology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Anhui Medical University, Anhui Province, China; Institute of Urology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Anhui Medical University, Anhui Province, China; Anhui Province Key Laboratory of Urological and Andrological Diseases Research and Medical Transformation, Anhui Medical University, Anhui Province, China., Department of Urology, The Third Affiliated Hospital of Soochow University, Changzhou, Jiangsu, China. Electronic address: ., Department of Urology, Peking University First Hospital Institute of Urology, Peking University Andrology Center, Beijing, China. Electronic address: ., Department of Urology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Anhui Medical University, Anhui Province, China; Institute of Urology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Anhui Medical University, Anhui Province, China; Anhui Province Key Laboratory of Urological and Andrological Diseases Research and Medical Transformation, Anhui Medical University, Anhui Province, China. Electronic address: .