Weaker Rest-Activity Rhythm, Unfavorable Sleep Profile Linked to Overactive Bladder

TUESDAY, July 28, 2026 (HealthDay News) — Weaker rest-activity rhythms (RARs) and unfavorable sleep profiles are associated with a higher prevalence of overactive bladder (OAB), according to a study published online July 17 in Neurourology and Urodynamics.

Renjie Huang, from the Heilongjiang University of Chinese Medicine in Harbin, China, and colleagues conducted a cross-sectional study involving 6,603 adults from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (2011 to 2014) to examine whether accelerometer-derived RAR and multidimensional sleep metrics are associated with OAB. Seven-day wrist-worn accelerometry was used to extract nonparametric RAR metrics (interdaily stability [IS], intradaily variability [IV], and relative amplitude [RA]) and sleep parameters.

The researchers found that the weighted prevalence of OAB was 21.4 percent. After full adjustment, each 0.1-unit increase in RA was associated with lower odds of OAB (odds ratio, 0.83), and each 0.1-unit increase in IV was associated with increased odds of OAB (odds ratio, 1.05). Inverse associations with OAB were also seen for higher sleep efficiency (odds ratio, 0.81 per 10 percent increase) and longer sleep duration (odds ratio, 0.95 per hour). No independent associations were seen for IS, social jetlag, or catch-up sleep. The RA-OAB relationship was partially accounted for by depression.

“These observational findings require prospective validation and encourage further evaluation of whether behavioral interventions targeting circadian and sleep health could complement OAB management,” the authors write.

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