To examine the prevalence of overactive bladder (OAB) according to menopausal stages in middle-aged women.
Cross-sectional study.
Total Healthcare Center in South Korea.
Middle-aged Korean women (n=3469, mean age, 49. 5 ± 2.9 years).
Menopausal stages were defined according to the Stages of Reproductive Aging Workshop +10 criteria, and menopausal symptoms were assessed using the Korean version of Menopause-Specific Quality of Life (MENQOL). Logistic regression models were used to estimate prevalence ratios with 95% confidence intervals for OAB according to menopausal stage and to assess the associations with menopausal symptoms.
OAB symptoms were evaluated using the Overactive Bladder Symptom Score (OABSS).
The prevalence of OAB increased with menopausal stage; however, the multivariable-adjusted prevalence ratios for women in menopausal transition and postmenopausal stage were insignificant (ptrend = 0.160) compared to those for premenopausal women. Among individual OAB symptoms, the multivariable-adjusted prevalence ratios for nocturia increased with menopausal stage in a dose-response manner (ptrend = 0.005 for 1 time/day; ptrend < 0.001 for ≥2 times/day). The association between menopausal stages and nocturia occurring ≥2 times/day was evident in women without OAB and with relatively high MENQOL scores, vasomotor symptoms and difficulty sleeping.
The prevalence of OAB, particularly nocturia, increased with menopausal stage, and the association was obvious in women with other menopausal symptoms. This finding underscores the importance of addressing nocturia as a potential menopausal symptom in middle-aged women. Further studies are required to understand the mechanisms linking OAB with menopausal symptoms in middle-aged women.
BJOG : an international journal of obstetrics and gynaecology. 2024 Jul 11 [Epub ahead of print]
Jungeun Park, Yoosoo Chang, Jae Heon Kim, Hye Rin Choi, Ria Kwon, Ga-Young Lim, Jiin Ahn, Kye-Hyun Kim, Hoon Kim, Yun Soo Hong, Di Zhao, Juhee Cho, Eliseo Guallar, Hyun-Young Park, Seungho Ryu
Center for Cohort Studies, Total Healthcare Center, Kangbuk Samsung Hospital, Sungkyunkwan University School of Medicine, Seoul, Korea., Department of Urology, Soonchunhyang University Seoul Hospital, Soonchunhyang University College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea., Institute of Medical Research, Sungkyunkwan University School of Medicine, Suwon, Korea., Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Kangbuk Samsung Hospital, Sungkyunkwan University School of Medicine, Seoul, Korea., Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Seoul National University College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea., Department of Epidemiology and Medicine and Welch Center for Prevention, Epidemiology, and Clinical Research, Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, Maryland, USA., Department of Clinical Research Design and Evaluation, Samsung Advanced Institute for Health Sciences and Technology, Sungkyunkwan University, Seoul, Korea., Department of Epidemiology, School of Global Public Health, New York University, New York, NY, USA., National Institute of Health, Cheongju, Korea.