Overactive Bladder Positively Associated With Arthritis

WEDNESDAY, March 5, 2025 (HealthDay News) — Overactive bladder (OAB) is associated with arthritis, with a positive association seen after adjustment for all covariates, according to a study published online Feb. 13 in Scientific Reports.

Yifan Sun, from Jiangnan University Medical Center in Wuxi, China, and colleagues used data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey database from 2005 to 2020 to examine the possible link between OAB and arthritis. A total of 24,436 participants were included in the analyses.

The researchers identified a positive association between arthritis and OAB after adjustment for all covariates (odds ratio, 1.37; 95 percent confidence interval, 1.22 to 1.54). A positive association was seen between osteoarthritis and OAB on stratification by arthritis type (odds ratio, 1.40; 95 percent confidence interval, 1.22 to 1.62), but significant associations were not seen for rheumatoid arthritis or psoriatic arthritis (odds ratios [95 percent confidence intervals], 1.20 [0.99 to 1.46] and 1.40 [0.75 to 2.60], respectively).

“Our research suggests that patients with osteoarthritis may have a higher likelihood of developing OAB compared to those without arthritis, indicating a potential association between these two conditions,” the authors write. “Therefore, urologists should assess the musculoskeletal status of patients with OAB during diagnosis and treatment.”

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