Overactive Bladder Prevalent Among Women With Fibromyalgia

MONDAY, Dec. 15, 2025 (HealthDay News) — Overactive bladder (OAB) is prevalent among women with fibromyalgia (FM) and is associated with higher symptom severity and comorbidity, according to a study published online Dec. 3 in Neurourology Urodynamics.

Duygu Kurtulus, M.D., from Health Sciences University in Istanbul, and colleagues conducted a cross-sectional study involving 232 women aged 18 to 65 years: 192 diagnosed with FM and 40 age- and symptom-matched controls without FM. The authors sought to examine the prevalence of OAB and compare clinical features.

The researchers identified OAB in 62.0 and 28.6 percent of FM patients and controls, respectively. Compared with FM patients without OAB, FM patients with OAB were significantly older and had longer disease duration. Compared with both FM patients without OAB and controls with OAB, scores on the Widespread Pain Index, Symptom Severity Scale, and General Symptom Score were significantly higher among FM patients with OAB. FM patients with OAB more frequently had psychiatric comorbidities, irritable bowel syndrome, and obesity. There were moderate correlations observed between OAB and FM symptom severity.

“FM patients with OAB had greater symptom severity, greater psychiatric and somatic comorbidities, and the ability to function, when compared to both FM patients without OAB as well as controls with OAB,” the authors write.

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