Quality of life assessment in Thai postmenopausal women with an overactive bladder

To compare the quality of life (QoL) among 3 groups of Thai postmenopausal women with an overactive bladder (OAB), diabetes, and without these conditions.

A total cross-sectional cohort of 180 postmenopausal women aged 48-60 years (60 had OAB, 60 diabetes and 60 controls) were recruited from the menopause clinic and diabetes clinic of Hatyai regional hospital between June and December 2003. Information on QoL were collected by the SF-36 questionnaire, validated for Thai women.

There was no significant difference in the patient's demographic characteristics. All dimensions of QoL score of women with OAB and diabetes were lower than the scores of the controls. When compared with diabetes, OAB had significantly lower scores in the general health, social function and role-function emotional dimensions.

QoL was significantly impaired in Thai postmenopausal women with OAB and diabetes compared to those women without these conditions. General health, social function and role-function emotional dimensions were particularly affected.