Background:
Overactive bladder (OAB) or urge incontinence is the most common form of urinary incontinence in men and women. It is characterized by symptoms of frequency, urgency and nocturia with or without the ability to delay voiding after sensation of bladder fullness is perceived. In general, OAB patients who need to urinate more than 8 times during the day and more than twice during the night in a 24 hour period. The prevalence of OAB in the United States is approximately 16% and incidence increases with increasing age.
Methods:
This analysis uses a cross-sectional design and a self-administered survey instrument. Information collected includes, gender, age, risk factors for OAB and eight simple questions regarding bladder symptoms. This survey does not contain any protected health information and all data was collected in an anonymous manner. Only patients who willingly volunteer to be included in the aggregated analysis were given the opportunity to complete a survey.
Results:
Four hundred fifty-two patients were screened during the study period. Female participants constituted the majority of patients at 61.3% while males were 38.7%. The age range was 18 to 99 with an average age of 45.8 years ± 15.2. Each participant voluntarily completed the OAB 8 questionnaire that asks patients to rate the severity of symptoms related to OAB. The questionnaire is a validated tool to assess OAB. A numerical score greater then 7 points indicated possible bladder problems. In this population 167 or 36.9% had a score greater then 7. Of the patients that tested positive on the OAB-8, the average score was 15.2 with an average age of 49.7 years. In addition, data on concurrent medical conditions were collected. Smoking and being overweight were the top two conditions associated with this population.
Conclusions:
Despite excellent therapeutic options for the treatment of OAB, this study indicates that the condition remains largely under diagnosed. This analysis helps to address the issue of under diagnosis by quantifying the proportion of patients that may suffer from undiagnosed OAB in a primary care setting. This survey found that the incidence of OAB in this clinic exceeds previously published data and in a relatively young population. Utilization of the screening questionnaire as part of a widespread program of community education can do much to improve OAB treatment and optimize the quality of care in these patients.

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