Characterization of symptom bother and health-related quality of life in Japanese female patients with overactive bladder

• Published in: Neurourology and urodynamics Vol. 34; no. 8; pp. 730 - 735
• Main Authors: Gotoh, Momokazu, Kobayashi, Toshimitsu, Sogabe, Keizo
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States Blackwell Publishing Ltd 01.11.2015; Wiley Subscription Services, Inc
• Subjects: Adult; Aged; Aged, 80 and over; Female; Health Status; Humans; Japan; Middle Aged; multiple regression analysis; OAB-q; OABSS; Prospective Studies; Quality of Life; Severity of Illness Index; Symptom Assessment; symptom severity; Urinary Bladder, Overactive - diagnosis; Urinary Bladder, Overactive - physiopathology; Japan; symptom severity; OAB-q; multiple regression analysis; OABSS
• ISSN: 0733-2467; 1520-6777
• DOI: 10.1002/nau.22663

Aims To analyze the impact of overactive bladder (OAB) symptoms and patient characteristics on symptom bother and quality of life (QOL). Methods An analysis of the data of 967 patients from SET‐Q, a prospective, multicenter, open, observational study in the post‐marketing setting, was performed. The eligible subjects were treatment‐naive female patients with OAB who complained of an urgency episode at least once a week. Symptom bother and QOL were assessed by the OAB‐questionnaire (OAB‐q), and severity of OAB symptoms was estimated by the OAB symptom score (OABSS). Multiple regression analysis was utilized for clarifying how OAB symptom severity affects QOL. Results The symptoms with the highest bother score were daytime frequency and urgency in the under‐50s age group, urgency in the 50s, 60s, and 70s age groups, night‐time frequency and urgency incontinence in the over‐80s age group, respectively. With an increase in severity of OAB as well as severity of urgency assessed by the OABSS, an increase in symptom bother and impairment in health‐related quality of life (HRQL) in the OAB‐q were observed. Multiple regression analysis demonstrated the significant relationship with urgency and nighttime frequency to symptom bother, and also significant interaction between age and urgency incontinence, associated with further negative effect on HRQLs in elderly patients. Conclusions This large sample study, by utilizing the scored questionnaire for symptom severity, bother and HRQL, showed that the symptoms with the highest bother were age‐dependent. It was also confirmed that symptom bother will be inferred by the OABSS. Neurourol. Urodynam. 34:730–735, 2015. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.