To characterize patients with urinary urgency (UU) with and without urgency urinary incontinence (UUI) who presented to clinics actively seeking treatment for their symptoms.
Participants who enrolled in the Symptoms of Lower Urinary Tract Dysfunction Research Network (LURN-I) were categorized into UU with versus without UUI. Participants were followed for 1 year; their urinary symptoms, urologic pain, psychosocial factors, bowel function, sleep disturbance, physical activity levels, physical function, and quality of life (QOL) were compared. Mixed effects linear regression models were used to examine the relationships between UUI and these factors.
Among 683 participants with UU at baseline, two-thirds (n=453) also had UUI; one-third (n=230) had UU-only without UUI. No differences were detected in urologic pain between UU-only and UUI. Those with UUI had more severe urgency and frequency symptoms, higher depression, anxiety, perceived stress scores, more severe bowel dysfunction and sleep disturbance, lower physical activity levels, lower physical function, and worse QOL than those with UU-only. Among those with UU-only at baseline, 40% continued to have UU-only, 15% progressed to UUI, and 45% had no urgency at 12-months. 58% with UUI at baseline continued to report UUI at 12-months, while 15% improved to UU-only, and 27% had no urgency.
Patients with UUI have severe storage symptoms, more psychosocial symptoms, poorer physical functioning, and worse QOL. Our data suggested UUI may be a more severe manifestation of UU, rather than UU and UUI being distinct entities.
The Journal of urology. 2022 Sep 06 [Epub ahead of print]
H Henry Lai, Jonathan B Wiseman, Margaret E Helmuth, Abigail R Smith, Cindy L Amundsen, Anne P Cameron, Alexander P Glaser, Whitney K Hendrickson, Ziya Kirkali, Kimberly Kenton
Division of Urologic Surgery, Departments of Surgery and Anesthesiology, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, Missouri., Arbor Research Collaborative for Health, Ann Arbor, Michigan., Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Division of Urogynecology, Duke University, Durham, North Carolina., Department of Urology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan., NorthShore University HealthSystem, Evanston, Illinois., National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases, Bethesda, Maryland., Department of Obstetrics & Gynecology, Division of Female Pelvic Medicine & Reconstructive Surgery, Northwestern University, Chicago, Illinois.