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Podium
Alexandra Dubinskaya, MD
Cedars Sinai Medical Center
Introduction: Symptoms of urinary frequency, urgency, and urinary leakage are characteristic of overactive bladder syndrome. However, frequency and urgency symptoms are also present in the majority of patients with Interstitial Cystitis/bladder pain syndrome (IC/BPS). The presence of urge incontinence among women with IC/BPS, which may indicate true overlap of OAB and IC/BPS, is not well established.
Methods: This is a prospective study of women with IC/BPS diagnosed clinically in the Veterans Affairs Health Care system. Patients completed the Overactive Bladder (OAB) and the Female Genitourinary Pain Index (F-GUPI) questionnaires. Questions from the OAB questionnaire were used to analyze symptoms of urinary urgency and urge incontinence, respectively. Pain symptoms, urinary symptoms, and impact on quality of life were assessed based on F-GUPI. Patient demographics, comorbidities, and symptoms were reviewed.
Results: Within the cohort of 144 women with IC/BPS, 114 (79%) had urinary leakage associated with the strong desire to void, and more likely to have incontinence compared to healthy controls (p < 0.001). The IC/BPS group also had higher total and pain scores on F-GUPI (p < 0.001), but pain scores were not affected by the presence of urinary leakage (p=0.478). History of depression (p=0.030) and irritable bowel syndrome (p=0.021) among IC/BPS group were significant findings compared to the healthy controls.
Conclusions: The prevalence of OAB symptoms of urinary leakage is high among women with IC/BPS. This may explain the efficacy of OAB medication and third-line therapies in this population.
Source of Funding: This publication was supported by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) as part of a financial assistance award totaling $5.5 million with 100 percent funded by CDC/HHS. The contents are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily represent the official views of, nor an endorsement, by CDC/HHS, or the U.S. Government. This work was funded by a grant (5U01DP006079) from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.